


Distant Shores

by orphan_account



Series: Enchanted Worlds [25]
Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-05 05:11:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1806499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The family takes a long-awaited trip to a Series Five world for some fun in the sun on a private island.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ahiru awoke not to the deep layer of quiet that always hung over Chrestomanci Castle, but to the sound of the tides lapping at the shore. She'd left her window open all night, and it allowed her to better hear the sound of the waves crashing against the sand. The cool breeze that tickled her face smelled of salt water, and the sunlight peeking through the curtains bathed her in a gentle warmth. Those pleasant sensations alone were enough to instantly awaken her, and she didn't need any time to gather her thoughts and remember where she was; a smile spread over her face, and excitement buzzed through her. Today the fun began.

They'd arrived late the previous evening - a conference in Series Eight had run behind schedule, resulting in their departure being delayed until Chrestomanci could get home and get everything in order - and thus had only seen the little private island in the dark, and the manor house itself hadn't been very well-lit either. But now that the sun had risen and she wasn't so sleepy, Ahiru could take a good look around her room. She quickly concluded as she did that it was one of the prettiest rooms she'd ever seen. Purples and pinks and blues swirled around in interesting patterns on the floor, and printed seashells dominated the wallpaper of the same color. The rest of the furniture followed suit in color and design, making it feel like a mermaid's room in some undersea palace. Real shells in iridescent colors and unusual shapes she'd never seen before sat atop shelves and the dresser, along with interesting-looking bottles in various colors and shapes, and if she lifted the amazingly soft sheets to her nose, she could smell some kind of flowery scent; she did so now, and let out a happy little giggle as she thought about how much fun this was all going to be.

Her dreamy imaginings were interrupted by a knock on her door, though. "Ahiru? Are you awake?"

"Rue? Y-yeah, I'm awake! I mean, obviously, since I answered… b-but, what is it?"

"Oh, I just wanted to let you know that breakfast is going to be served out on the terrace, and then I think we're all going to get ready and head down to the beach. Just so you know where to go when you're dressed."

"O-oh, okay! Thank you!" Ahiru breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been worried for a moment there that their trip was being cut short due to an emergency or something, but thankfully Rue had come to report entirely innocuous news. She let herself sit contentedly in bed for another minute or so, simply basking in the atmosphere, before practically leaping out and nearly stumbling over her own feet in her eagerness to get to where she'd left her luggage the night before. She hadn't felt like unpacking before falling into bed, so she had to search a little to find her carefully folded bathrobe. To her mind there wasn't much point to getting dressed when she'd just be changing back out of her clothes and into a swimsuit when breakfast was over, so she tied the robe on over her nightgown, put on some slippers, and padded out in the direction of the terrace.

The house itself was situated on a peninsular cliff overlooking the sea, and Ahiru's room was perfectly located to give her a beautiful ocean view. The terrace, meanwhile, was on the section of the cliff at the very back of the house, so she didn't have far to walk. Everyone was already seated around the table when she got there, and had evidently had the same views on getting properly dressed as she had. She made a beeline for the empty seat beside Fakir, who looked up at her as she drew near. "Good morning, Fakir." She gently squeezed his shoulder.

"Morning." He smiled at her, and reached his hand up in time to give her fingers a little squeeze in return before she sank into the chair next to him. She smiled back, blushing, and then turned her attention to the food that had just arrived.

Chrestomanci had hired local chefs to prepare their meals while they were here, and they'd whipped up an impressive array of breakfast treats unique to this world. Ahiru found that she wanted to sample all of them, and ended up taking a little bit of everything. There were sausages made of some kind of delicious, flavorful meat, seared crispy on the outside while remaining tender inside; pastries filled with a tangy yet sweet creamy cheese; a fruit salad with a medley of fruits native to the Series; fried bread seasoned with sugar and spices; smoked fish; and a variety of interesting teas and juices. Uzura selected one that was bright blue and drank large quantities of it with gusto in between bites of various dishes.

"Wow, it's all so good." Ahiru took a final sip of the sweet tea she'd chosen. "I've never tried Series Five food before, but it's really yummy. I like it a lot!"

"I'm glad." Chrestomanci smiled. "There are a great many diverse cuisines, of course, in each individual world as well as from world to world within the Series, but the ingredients are fairly similar, just as Series Twelve has its similarities in such things. Whenever I travel, I always make it a point to sample the local food."

"I won't lie: that's one of the reasons I want to do a lot of traveling once my studies are done." Rue set her fork down and looked out at the horizon with a wistful sigh. "Not just food, but… there's so much out there I haven't seen or tried. I want to enjoy it all."

"You will." Chrestomanci reached over and laid her hand on Rue's. "Just be patient."

"I know, I know, I am." Rue smiled sheepishly. "And I've already seen a bit of Series Seven and now Five, so I shouldn't complain. Not that I am, simply… I have things to be grateful for already. Which I am."

"Which do you like more?" Ahiru asked. "Seven or Five?"

"Hard to say. I've barely seen any of Five yet, and you know I have my biases about Seven." Rue winked. "But I'm sure I will love it here too, and what I've already seen fills me with excitement."

"Me too!" Ahiru bounced up and down in her chair a little, and Fakir smiled fondly as he watched her. "I can't wait to explore everything! It's going to be so fun…"

"I'm happy you both feel that way." Chrestomanci looked out at the horizon herself, at the ocean view they had where they sat. "Now then, shall we -"

"I want to go to the beach zura!" Uzura interrupted. "I want to swim zura!"

"Patience, Uzura, I was getting to that." Chrestomanci chuckled. "We all have to go get ready first, and then we'll be heading straight down there. All right?"

"Yay zura!" She clapped her hands together happily. "I can't wait zura!"

When they left the terrace at last Ahiru practically ran back to her room, so excited was she about going down to the beach. It was her first time at _any_ beach, after all, so she was at least as eager as Uzura, if not more so. She tried her best not to toss too many of her carefully folded clothes onto the floor as she searched for her swimsuit and accompanying cover-up, but some ended up there anyway; she felt guilty, and promised herself she'd put them all away nicely in the pretty dresser later.

Her guilt lasted only as long as it took her to change into the swimsuit, however, and she beamed at her reflection in the full-length mirror (that seemed to be twice as tall as she was) that had been mounted on the wall beside the dresser. She'd picked out a lemony-yellow fabric with white hearts printed on it, and had it made into a cute two-piece, with the top being a tank that fit snugly across her small chest (any design that she thought might slip off her, like the tops that tied on, had been instantly nixed) before becoming looser over her stomach, and was short enough that some of her midriff peeked out. The bottom had a little bit of lace trim as well, and she couldn't help but feel pretty and adorable in it, especially once she'd put her hair up into a braided bun to keep it out of the way while she ran around and swam. There was a matching cover-up too, a little yellow robe that reached almost to her knees, and she put it on along with her yellow sandals before leaving her room so that her suit would be a nice surprise to show Fakir when they got down to the shore.

He was waiting for her when she finally got back downstairs; so was everyone else, but he was standing in front, and her eyes were always drawn to him first anyway. He'd changed into black swimming trunks and a dark green shirt and had his hair loose around his shoulders, which looked so nice it made her heart flutter a little, and it did it again when she caught his eye and he smiled at her. "Ready?"

"Y-yeah!" She darted forward and took his hand. "Let's go!"

It wasn't that long a walk down to the beach: they had only to traverse the gently sloping path down from the side of the property that led straight to the sand. It wasn't too narrow or steep a path and was securely bordered on each side by large rocks, so Ahiru didn't feel very nervous going down it, though she still held Fakir's hand the whole time. Chrestomanci carried Uzura, and Rue had the bag with their necessities in it. Anything else they needed could just be conjured from the house later. They set up the blankets first, and an umbrella for some shade, and then it was time to attend to preparing for the real fun.

"What are these zura?" Uzura examined the floaties that her mother had put on her, and flapped her arms up and down. Ahiru had picked the specific ones they got, and thus they were yellow and made to look like little ducklings. "Are they wings so I can fly zura?"

"No, silly," Rue said with a laugh as she unpacked the bottles of protective ointment for their skin, and handed Chrestomanci the one formulated for young children. "They're so you don't sink when you go swimming."

"Swimming zura?" Uzura looked out at the sea. "Am I going to swim in the ocean zura?"

"No." Chrestomanci shook her head as she began to apply the ointment to Uzura's exposed skin. "Over there." She indicated a medium sized inlet almost entirely cut off from the rest of the water by smooth, weather-beaten rocks; it was a bit like a naturally formed swimming pool, and would be the perfect safe space for Uzura to swim in.

"But… but I want to go in the ocean zura." The pout started to emerge. "Like Rue and Fakir and Ahiru."

"You can't. I'm sorry." Chrestomanci shook her head again. "They can because they're bigger, but you're still too small."

Uzura looked up at them all, studying their relative sizes. "Ahiru's not that big zura."

"Uzura!" Chrestomanci scolded her, but Ahiru giggled.

"It's okay." Having finished applying the lotion to most of her body, Ahiru bent down in front of Uzura. "Uzura, don't worry - you'll be big enough to swim in the ocean with us before you know it. And think about it this way: that pool is your special area, and you can decide if the rest of us can come swim in it with you or not. Okay?"

Uzura thought about that for a moment. "You can zura," she decided. "But everyone else is too big zura."

Ahiru giggled again. "Okay. I'll come swimming with you later, then. I promise!"

"Not just yet, I don't think," Rue said, and she caught Chrestomanci's eye; they both nodded at each other. "I think I'd like to build a sand castle with Uzura first, if that's all right."

"Ooooohhhh." Uzura nodded. "That sounds fun zura."

"Awwww, I can't wait to see it, then," Ahiru said with a smile. She turned to Fakir then, and held out the bottle of ointment. "U-um, will you put this on my back? I can't reach and I don't wanna get a sunburn. I mean, it's not that hot here, but still…"

"Of - of course." Fakir's blush - which had appeared the moment she'd taken off her cover-up to reveal her swimsuit and hadn't yet gone away partly because he couldn't keep his eyes off her - deepened as he took the bottle and their fingers brushed. "I - I'll just… here." He sat down on the blanket. "S-sit down in front of me, I think that'll be easier…"

"Okay! Thank you!" Ahiru happily sat down in front of him on the blanket. She found that if she stuck her legs straight out she could just barely reach the sand, enough to wiggle her toes in it, and so she did. Everything about this was just so new and exciting and fun, even the sand under her feet. Fakir saw her wiggling her toes, and another fond smile appeared on his face, his eyes full of warmth and affection as he looked at her.

"Ahiru, you think you could do the same for me?" Rue was standing over her with another bottle in her hand. "It'd be a big help."

"Wh-what?" Ahiru glanced up, and by chance the first place her eyes went was the low-cut swimsuit top Rue had chosen; she blushed and looked away. "S-sure, just - just sit down in front of me a-and I will!" She pulled her legs up and sat cross-legged to give Rue room.

"Thanks." Rue bent down and handed Ahiru the bottle, and then sat down with her back to her. "Chrestomanci's busy, and Uzura… well, I think we can see the problem with asking _her_."

"Y-yeah." Ahiru's cheeks turned even pinker, and she was glad no one could see her blushing. Between Fakir's touch on her back and now being asked to do this, it was no wonder her heart was racing. Some of it was out of guilt too, admittedly - it felt wrong somehow to have these reactions to Rue, mostly since she was with Fakir now, but also partly because of the way she knew Rue saw her as a little sister. She tried so hard to suppress them, but it was difficult to keep her body from responding to things like this no matter how much she tried to ignore it. She knew deep down that she couldn't help it and despite what she'd heard some people say in the past she firmly believed that it didn't make her a bad person to have feelings like this for other girls, but she also couldn't help but feel bad, like she was being unfaithful somehow even though she logically knew she wasn't, and she worried about how Fakir would react if she ever told him. On top of that, she also felt guilty for not telling him even though she was afraid to. It was a tangled mess of emotions she didn't feel like dealing with just now. "Th-there, all done…"

"Thanks again." Oblivious to Ahiru's internal turmoil, Rue took the bottle back from her and moved to put it back in the bag. "Come on, Uzura, you ready to build a castle? We can make it look like home."

"Yes zura!" Uzura clapped her hands together.

"You're all done too." Fakir traced his finger over her shoulder, making her shiver. It was tempting to kiss any one of the many freckles there, but they'd probably both die of embarrassment if he did that in front of everyone else, and the protective ointment wouldn't taste good anyway. "Want to go swim?"

"Yes!" All her guilty thoughts and worries were almost instantly pushed away to the back of her mind by a fresh wave of excitement. "I - I'm so excited to go swimming in the ocean, I've never been in any ocean, even the ones back home, I've only gone swimming in the lake before, I've never been to any beach so this is really exciting and fun and I'm kinda nervous but also really happy…" She paused to take a breath, and then looked up at him as they both stood up. "Um, don't you need to apply some too? Do you need me to get your back?"

"I… no." Fakir shook his head. "I've already put a little on just in case, and… I… well… I'll be fine, I'm just… going to go in like this. Don't worry."

"O-okay." Ahiru couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she wasn't going to see him without a shirt yet, but she shoved it aside - if he wasn't comfortable for whatever reason, she didn't want to push him into anything. "H-have you ever gone swimming in the ocean before?"

"Once." He took her hand, and they started walking down towards the water. "When I was about Uzura's age my parents took me to the beach and let me swim a little. Or really, they let me think I was swimming - they actually held onto me the whole time while I paddled my arms and legs in the water."

"Awwww!" Ahiru couldn't help but smile at the mental image that conjured up. She'd only seen Fakir as a child once, and he'd been older than in the story he'd just told her, but she couldn't help but kind of picture it. "That - w-well, don't get mad at me, but that sounds really cute."

"Idiot, I - I'm not going to get mad at you." He couldn't help but turn red again, though, and turned his head away to look at the sand. Over a short distance to the right, Rue and Uzura were attempting to build their castle. "Attempting" being the key word, as Rue's efforts had just been hampered again by Uzura cheerfully kicking over a couple of towers. He smiled to himself with amusement at the long-suffering expression on Rue's face as she tried to explain to Uzura that they were never going to get their castle properly built if she kept doing that. "Don't worry."

"Okay, good." They came to a stop at the edge of the water, just far enough in that the tide lapped gently over her feet. It was so cold that she quacked in surprise when she first felt it. "Oh! I - I see why you wanted to keep your shirt on, it - it's really cold!"

"You'll get used to it." Fakir squeezed her hand, secretly grateful that she'd mistook his reasoning behind remaining fully clothed. "The more you stand in it, the less cold it'll feel until you're comfortable."

"Y-yeah, I know, I remember that from swimming in the lake, I just… didn't expect it to be _this_ cold, you know?" Ahiru shivered. "Cause we're at the beach and it's warm, even though it's not _that_ warm… I was expecting it to be hotter but it's really nice here actually…"

"Yeah, she picked a good area." They took a few more steps forward into the water, and Fakir spoke again after a couple minutes. "Ah… also… by the way…"

"Yes?" Ahiru turned to look up at him, and saw that he was blushing. "What is it, Fakir?"

"You… you look… really pretty in that." His face went even redder, and he could feel his ears getting hot under the cover of his hair. "In your… swimsuit, I mean…"

"Oh!" Ahiru blushed too. "I - I was - I wondered what you thought… thank you!" She let out a little giggle. "I - I really like it too, and it's so comfortable… I - I'm so glad you think I look nice…"

"You always do." He let go of her hand, but only so he could touch her cheek and move some stray hairs away. In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder if she'd get any new freckles on this trip. They were one of her cutest features, in his opinion. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I just…"

"I know," Ahiru interrupted, and she leaned up to kiss his cheek. "We were in front of everybody and you're shy about that stuff. It's okay."

"It's not… it's not that I'm embarrassed to be with you, or don't want anyone to know how I feel, it's just…" Fakir tried to search for the right way to phrase it. "I'm just…" He sighed. "I'm… awkward, I guess. Sorry. You deserve better."

"No, oh no, don't say that!" Ahiru shook her head and took his hand again so she could squeeze it. "Fakir, I told you, it's okay. I don't need you to be all showy about stuff, really. Not cause I'm embarrassed either, but cause… well… I dunno, it just seems like something private and between us? I dunno if I'm phrasing it right, but we don't need to make big shows of stuff to prove we love each other. I know how you feel about me and you know how I feel about you and it's kinda more special anyway when we say stuff like that when it's just us… do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do." Fakir let himself smile a little. "You're right. I know you are. I just… I don't ever want to hurt you by making you feel that I want to hide my feelings for you in front of others."

"You haven't yet." Ahiru squeezed his hand again. "And I don't think you ever will. So don't worry so much, okay?"

"I'll try. Thank you." He bent and kissed the top of her head, and she sighed happily.

They kept walking further out, until the water was nearly up to Ahiru's waist. She jumped up and down and splashed around, giggling every time a wave went above her waist. Her giggle turned into a quack of surprise, however, when Fakir abruptly scooped her up into his arms, just before a wave crashed into them that likely would've gone over her head. Fakir stumbled backwards, but managed to stay on his feet, and Ahiru clung to him, burying her face in his neck and tasting salt water as the water washed over them. "Oooh… that was a big one… b-but I'm sure I would've been okay, I can swim…"

"I know, but you didn't see it coming." Fakir hugged her a little. "Sorry if you didn't want me to do that."

"N-no, it's okay, I don't mind." She lifted her head and pulled back to look at him with a smile. "I - I like it when you hold me, you know that… and it's nice when you pick me up, like when we've danced… and you're right, I mean, it went really high on you and you're so much taller than me, I think you've even gotten taller lately…"

"Oh?" Fakir raised his eyebrows. He knew he had, purely from having needed new clothes to replace the ones he was starting to outgrow, but he feigned ignorance anyway. "How do you know you haven't shrunk?"

"I - what?" Ahiru's eyes widened in panic. "C-can that happen? Do you really think I'm getting smaller? Oh no…"

"You haven't." He shook his head. "I was only teasing. Sorry."

"O-oh! Oh, that's okay, then!" Ahiru relaxed. "I just… I'm already really little… maybe _too_ little… and I dunno if I'm going to grow anymore…"

"Silly duck." Fakir kissed her cheek, and then set her down. The water was calmer now, so it seemed safe, but they nevertheless retreated a short ways. "You're the perfect size, no matter what size you are. Don't worry about that."

"But - but what if I really don't grow any taller, and you keep growing, and then I'm too short for you?" Ahiru stepped closer to him. "Look, the top of my head used to reach up to here." She touched his shoulder. "A-and now I only go up to here on you." She touched a spot on his chest. "You already have to really bend down to kiss me, what'll happen when you finish growing and there's an even bigger difference?"

"I'll keep bending down." As if to prove it, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I don't mind. And I can always pick you up, and we can sit and - and lie down too." He blushed a little. "It doesn't bother me. It's not going to make me want to kiss you any less. Nothing could."

"O-okay, that's good!" Ahiru smiled. "A-and it's the same, there's nothing at all that could make me not want to kiss you, unless you were really horrible to me or something, but I don't think you ever would be, I just can't see that happening, so I'm not worried."

"… That's good too." Something flickered in Fakir's eyes for a moment, but his smile didn't falter, so she wasn't sure if she'd seen it or not. "I'm… glad to hear that."

"Of course!"

They played in the water for a little bit longer, and then headed back. By that time, Uzura had been taken into her private pool by her mother, and consented to letting Ahiru into it to swim too, as had been promised. Fakir and Rue pretended to pout at being excluded until Uzura finally agreed that they could come in too, and much fun was had by all five of them until it was time for lunch. After that Chrestomanci took Uzura back up to the house so she could nap, as she was getting sleepy from the food and sun. The other three remained behind to enjoy the water and read while listening to the tides, though Ahiru ended up napping too, curled up against Fakir on the blanket.

All in all, it was a perfect first day.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ah, it's no use…"

Ahiru let out a deep sigh as she attempted, not for the first time, to tuck the shorter bits of her hair into her braided bun. She'd had no luck smoothing down her massive cowlick either, not that she'd expected to, but it would've been nice to make her hair more presentable. Which was a silly wish, she knew, given that it was likely to get wet and sandy again, but still: she and Fakir were having their first private date of sorts while here on the island, and she wanted to look pretty. It helped that she'd bought a new hair ornament of sorts on the trip yesterday to a nearby resort town, a wire circlet of sorts that fit snugly and perfectly around the bun and was adorned with shimmering golden flowers that complemented her swimsuit, but she nevertheless felt vaguely dissatisfied when she looked in the mirror. She shouldn't have been surprised, though: her hair had never been inclined to behave the way she wanted it to, so why would it start now? And it was also important to remind herself that Fakir thought she was pretty no matter what, so it wasn't like she had to worry about disappointing him.

She made herself keep that thought at the back of her mind as she finished getting ready and hurried downstairs; looking perfect mattered less than being on time, after all. Despite that the clock showed she wasn't late she couldn't help but worry about it, and quickened her pace once she was safely off the staircase. As a result she was slightly winded when she got to where Fakir was just walking up, and gave him a breathless smile. "H-hi! A-are you ready?"

"Yeah." He smiled and held up the basket he was carrying. "I have the food. You have everything else?"

"Yep!" Ahiru nodded. "A-and I double-checked twice to make sure I didn't forget everything. Wait… does that mean I triple-checked? B-but anyway, I got it all! Don't worry!"

"I'm not." Fakir leaned down to kiss her forehead, but paused as he saw that she was wearing her new hair accessory. "Ah… that… that looks… pretty on you." He blushed.

"R-really?" Ahiru turned roughly the same shade of pink. "Th-thank you, I really like it too… I just… I wish my hair looked nicer." Her shoulders slumped. "I can't get it to behave, I wanted to look pretty for you today…"

"Idiot. You don't owe it to me to look any sort of way." He shook his head. "A-and you always look pretty anyway, I - I don't know what you worry about." His blush deepened.

"Eeeeee, thank you, and I know I don't, I just…" She paused to gather her thoughts. "It's just… my _hair_. I've got all these silly shorter bits and _this_ thing." She lifted a hand to self-consciously touch her cowlick. "It looks so weird, doesn't it? It's weird…"

"It's cute," Fakir said softly, and he rubbed the top of her head. "I've always thought so. And it… reminds me of a feather."

"R-really?" Ahiru turned wondering eyes up at him. "You - you really think it's cute?"

"Yes, really." Fakir hesitated for a moment, and then let his hand move down to touch her cheek. "Believe me, Ahiru, you… you don't have anything to worry about, not when it comes to this sort of thing."

Ahiru tilted her head a little. "Is - is everything all right?"

"Of course it is." Fakir made himself smile, and he took her hand. "I'm fine. Don't worry. Let's go have fun."

 _You don't **sound** fine_ , Ahiru wanted to say. _And your eyes looked sad even when you smiled_. But she figured he really didn't want to talk about it right now, not if he was pretending nothing was wrong, so she didn't press it, because she didn't want to pester him and spoil their date for him. She hated seeing him sad without knowing what the cause was or what she could do about it, but if he didn't feel ready to tell her yet, what else was she going to do but respect that? She just hoped he'd talk about it eventually, and wouldn't try to bottle it all up. That just wasn't good, and besides, he should know that he could confide anything in her, that he could trust her to unconditionally support him the way he did for her. And if he didn't, she would just have to remind him.

Shortly into their walk down to the shore, something Fakir had said finally clicked with her. "Oh, um… y-you said this reminded you of a feather?" She touched her cowlick with her free hand.

"Yeah. Like a little duckling." He let go of her hand for a moment and ruffled her hair. "But twice as adorable."

Despite still being worried about him, Ahiru couldn't help but giggle at that. "O-oh! That's - I don't mind _that_ , then!" She squeezed his hand when he took hold of it again. "Th-thank you, you - you made me feel better."

"I'm glad." Something flickered in his eyes, and she felt her heart sink a little. "I… don't like to see you feeling bad about yourself."

"Me either. I mean… I don't like to see you feeling bad about yourself either." She squeezed his hand again. "A-and if I can ever help _you_ feel better about anything, just tell me, okay? I wanna support you like you always support me."

"You do." The look in his eyes became one of warmth. "Don't worry."

"Th-that's good. I - I'm glad." Ahiru pretended to get distracted by something off to the side, so that she wouldn't have to show him the worried expression that passed over her face for a moment before she fought to push it away.

The paths diverged at the bottom of the cliff; one way led to the "main" beach close by, where the others were going again, while the other took a longer route to a more secluded area that they hadn't really explored much. They'd been assured it was safe, though, so they'd picked that spot for the private date today. It took longer to get there, but it was worth it once they did. The coastline here was more jagged, with more rocks out in the water, and narrow strips of land leading off in intriguing directions. There was plenty of room to spread a blanket, and the sand sparkled nearly as prettily as the water, for here it wasn't pure white, but speckled with lots of glimmering golden pieces.

"Why do you think it looks like that?" Ahiru asked as they carefully spread the blanket and weighed it down at each corner so that it wouldn't flap up in the breeze.

"I don't know." Fakir shrugged. "There could be all sorts of reasons."

"Maybe it's cause stuff from mermaids washes up!" Ahiru's eyes sparkled. "Like if they make stuff with gold down on the ocean floor right below here and they have tiny little chips and stuff left over and it kinda floats up and washes ashore and mixes in with the sand. Do you think that might be it?"

"I have no idea." Fakir smiled. "I like your theory, though."

"Eeee, yay!" Ahiru beamed. She took another admiring look at the view, and then returned her attention to unpacking. The food they'd brought would stay at the perfect temperatures in the basket thanks to the chef's spells, so they didn't need to worry about that; and all that was left in her little bag now was the protective ointment for their skin. She took it and held it out to him."W-will you do my back?" she asked, blushing a little. She'd gotten all the places she could before leaving the house. "A-and then I can do yours for you too, if you want."

"Yeah, sit down and I'll do it for you." Ignoring her reference to doing the same favor for him, Fakir sat down on the blanket, and Ahiru sat down in front of him after taking off her cover-up. Opening the bottle , he began to apply the lotion all over the parts of her back and shoulders and neck that her swimsuit left exposed. She'd so far managed to avoid getting a sunburn, which was no small feat considering that she was a pale, freckly redhead. Then again, she'd been the most diligent of all of them about using the cream to shield her skin, so it was as much thanks to her effort as to luck.

"Wh-what do you think we'll find down here?" Ahiru asked, shivering a little as he rubbed her back with his fingertips. "Do you think there's any neat hidden places?"

"I have no idea. Should be fun to find out, though." He capped the bottle and tossed it aside. "Okay, all done. Let's go see what we can discover."

"W-wait! Wait!" Ahiru bounded up from the blanket and rushed over to him - Fakir hadn't wasted any time in immediately standing up and starting to walk away. "I - I thought I was gonna do your back for you! I know we have different-colored skin, but you should still be careful, cause we're on a different Series and we don't know everything about what the sun does here."

"It's fine." Fakir shrugged. "I'm just going to wear this, so my skin won't be exposed. Don't worry."

"But - but aren't you going to be really warm in that?" Ahiru persisted. "It's warmer today than it has been for the past few days, and we're gonna do a lot of walking and we already did do a lot of walking… wouldn't you be more comfortable in just your swim trunks?"

A look of something like fear flashed in Fakir's eyes, brief enough that Ahiru almost thought she missed it. But she hadn't. "… No. I'm fine. Just… just don't worry about it."

"Fakir, I…" Ahiru stepped closer. "Um, I… I don't want to pester you or pressure you or anything, but this all seems… kinda weird, cause you haven't once taken your shirt off for swimming and stuff since we got here and I…" She trailed off, biting her lip. "Oh… is it me? Do you not want me to touch you to put the cream on?" It seemed a little silly when she thought about it, but it was the only thing she could come up to explain his reluctance about this.

"What?" Fakir frowned. "No, nothing like that. It's just… I…" He hesitated. "Look, Ahiru, it's… I _told_ you, back after Halloween, remember?"

Ahiru tilted her head. "Told me what?"

"That I… got burned." He shifted. "In the fire."

"What?" Her little nose crinkled with confusion as she thought back to his words that day. "I… I remember you saying you got hurt, but not _how_ , and Chrestomanci just told me you were injured, nobody told me it was _that_ … and, and I thought you got better!"

"… Oh. Well. Now you know." He looked down at the sand. "And I did recover, but… there's things even magic can't fix. If I were to take this off, you'd see that."

"Oh. I… oh." Ahiru's heart sank as she understood, finally. "That makes sense… I… but…" She swallowed. "Um, I mean… I understand why you don't want to show me, but… but you don't have to be afraid, I promise I won't be mean and it's not gonna gross me out or anything… but if you're not comfortable that's okay, I don't want to pressure you and make you feel bad or anything, that's not nice and I'd never do that." She paused as something occurred to her. "Although, um… won’t I have to see eventually? I mean, if – if we – if we’re going to… someday… y-you know…” She trailed off, blushing and hoping he understood her stammering.

“I – I – I…” he stammered, his face turning an even brighter red. The thought had occurred to him before, of course, but he wasn't remotely ready and he knew she wasn't either; it was far too early in their relationship, so it hadn't seemed like something they needed to discuss just yet. In fact, if anything, his insecurities about his body were directly contributing to his need to delay it as long as possible. “I s-suppose so,” he said carefully, feeling even his ears grow hot. “But, well… try to understand… I’ve never let anyone that wasn’t a doctor see this before, so you’d be… and… and I…” He swallowed. “It – it might… bother you, I don’t want…”

"It won't!" Ahiru shook her head. "I promise you, it's not gonna bother me and I'm not gonna think you're icky or anything. If you're not ready, I understand, but if you're hesitating cause you think I'm gonna react badly, you don't have to be. I…" She bit her lip and looked away. "I don't know… I just… I don't want you to be afraid of me seeing you, not because of me, but cause of you… it must feel bad for you to have to worry about that, and I don't want you to feel bad."

"… All right." Fakir sighed. Ahiru looked up at him, not really understanding, and he took a deep breath. "I'll… well… just - just give me a minute."

Before she could say anything, he turned away from her. For close to a minute, he simply stared out at the ocean as the tide gently rolled in, trying to calm himself down. Ahiru… she was finally going to really see him, see what the worst part of him looked like. Could she handle that? Was he brave enough to show her? At this point, he kind of felt like he had to. He knew she'd understand if he got cold feet, but after talking about it with her there was a part of him that didn't want to put it off any longer, that wanted to just get it over with no matter how scary it was. And it _was_ scary, despite her encouraging words. How could it not be? He'd avoided letting anyone except those medically examining him see him like that for years, and her opinion was the one that mattered most. It hurt to think of her being disgusted by him.

 _Stop it_ , he told himself. _You know she's not like that, and she already said she wouldn't be. Trust her_. A flash of guilt went through him at that reminder. He _did_ trust Ahiru, he really did. More than anyone else. She'd said she'd be okay with how he looked, and he knew she meant it. He needed to stop listening to his old fears and believe in her. And he would, right here, right now. So he steeled his resolve and took his shirt off, and tossed it onto the sand near the blanket.

He made the mistake of glancing down at himself, though, and what little courage he'd summoned up fled in the time it took to take one look and then avert his eyes. The familiar sight was imprinted on his brain, however, and his stomach churned with nausea as he stood frozen in place. How? How could he show her _that_ and ask her to accept it? Couldn't he just… keep clothing on over that part of his body when the time eventually came for them to move up to that level of physical intimacy? It wasn't required to remove every stitch of clothing completely for that, was it?

… No. It wasn't required, and she would probably understand if it came to that and he didn't want to take it off. But that wasn't fair to her, she should know what she was getting into before they did that. And even if she _was_ a little grossed out now, there was still plenty of time for her to adjust to him before they got to that stage. It would be fine. No matter what, it was going to be fine. He had to trust in her and believe that.

"Fakir?" Her voice sounded very small. "If - if you changed your mind, I understand…"

"No." He exhaled. "I didn't… sorry, I just… I needed a moment. I'm…" He took a deep breath, and let it out. "All right. I'm… going to turn around now, so… so brace yourself."

"I don't need to…" Ahiru trailed off as Fakir turned around. Their eyes met, and she registered the nervous look in them before letting her eyes travel down to the rest of him.

At first she only noticed how, well, nicely-shaped he was, for lack of a better term - all the lean muscle that had been built up from ballet and fencing. She'd figured he had a good physique, from what she felt when they embraced and what the outlines produced when his wet shirts clung to him revealed, but actually seeing what was under his clothes was different, it made her feel warm all over just looking at him. But then her gaze fell on the right side of his chest, where he'd been burned, and a cold feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. His skin was naturally a light brown color, but here, here there were splotches of strange shades of pink and dark purple, and there were places where she could tell skin grafts had been done. The scarred area stretched from the bottom of his shoulder to the very top of his stomach, and it looked... painful. That was her impression more than anything: that it had caused him a lot of physical pain, and that he was lucky to still be alive and standing her before her with fear in his eyes she knew he was trying desperately to hide. It made _her_ eyes fill with tears as she looked at him, her throat closing up with a lump that hurt.

"Oh god…" Fakir took a step backward, his heart sinking as he saw her expression. She was on the verge of crying, her little face about to crumple, all from looking at him and seeing what he'd worked so hard to hide from her for so long. It was even worse than he'd feared. "You _are_ bothered…"

"I - no! Not like that - I mean - oh, Fakir, no!" She rushed forward and barreled into him before he could turn away again, making him stumble back on the sand slightly as she threw her arms around him and pressed her face into his chest. "No, no, no! Don't think that! Please? It's not like that, it's not what you think!"

"I… what… what is it… like, then?" Fakir managed, as he once again stood completely frozen in place. If she wasn't disgusted by him, then what were these tears for? He couldn't think.

"I… I know this… probably gave you the wrong idea, but…" Ahiru's voice shook, and her tears began to fall onto him. "It’s… it’s because…” She took a great, gulping breath to try and steady herself. “It-it looks like it h-hurt a lot, like you were in a lot of p-pain, and I… and I can’t b-bear to think of you suffering like that!” Her voice broke, and she pressed her face more firmly against him as the tears continued to flow.

Fakir was silent for a long moment before speaking again. “That’s it?” he said, a note of incredulity creeping into his voice. “That’s all that bothers you about it?”

“Of course it is!” She leaned back just enough to look up at him with wet eyes. “I t-told you already, you don’t have to worry about me being grossed out or anything like that. Not _ever_!” She let her gaze drop back down to his chest, and her lower lip wobbled again. "This… oh, Fakir…" She let go of him and tentatively touched him, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. "This happened right after we first met, right?"

"… Yeah." Fakir nodded. "Only a few months later."

"Oh… you were so little then…" Fresh tears started to build in her eyes. "And it hurt you so m-much… and if Chrestomanci hadn't saved you, you could've _died…_ " Ahiru pressed her hand to her mouth, and her shoulders shook. It felt so silly now to have been worrying about her _hair_ , of all things, when he'd been hiding something like this out of fear of her reaction. His behavior earlier suddenly made perfect sense.

"I didn't, though," he said quietly. "I survived and… yeah, this… hurt a lot, I can't lie about that. But it doesn't anymore."

"Th-that's good." Ahiru hiccupped and wiped at her eyes. "I - I'm glad, cause… cause I don't want you to still hurt from it, and… and if I'd ever accidentally hurt you by hugging you or something, I'd be the _worst_ …"

"You haven't. And even if you had, you wouldn't be the worst for doing something you couldn't have known not to do." He hesitated, and then lifted a hand to touch her hair. "I… thank you. Not just for worrying about that, but for… it means a lot to me that you…"

"Fakir?" Ahiru looked up as she heard his voice crack, and her heart broke as she saw the expression on his face, saw how his eyes seemed wet. "Oh no… Fakir, Fakir, what's wrong?" She reached up and touched his cheek. "Did - did I say something bad?"

"No, you… no, nothing's wrong, it's just…" Fakir took a deep breath and let it out. "I never… I never thought I'd find someone like you who can accept me the way I am, inside and out." He smiled at her for the first time since this conversation had started. "Thank you, Ahiru."

"Oh, Fakir… of course… of course…" Ahiru gave him an equally teary smile in return before wrapping her arms around him again. "Of course I do. Anyone who doesn't is missing out, cause to me you're so wonderful, and - and I feel so lucky to have you. I really do."

"That's… something else I never expected to hear." He returned her embrace this time, slipping his arms around her and leaning his head against hers as he closed his eyes. "I thought… I always… well, for years now I've… hated myself so much, because of what I did, and it hasn't made me entirely pleasant to be around either. And then on top of _that,_ I've felt like a hideous monster in appearance too, ever since they took the last bandages off and I saw what the fire did to me."

"Oh… oh yeah, you…" Ahiru pulled back a little, and looked up at him. "I remember… you told me once about how that plant from Series Six smelled, a-and what it's used for… that's how you knew, isn't it?"

"Yeah." He let out a sad little laugh. "I… learned quickly not to eat anything before they reapplied it, because of how bad the smell was. It was terrible enough that I'd throw up if I had anything in my stomach, and even when I didn't I still felt sick for hours until the odor faded." Fakir sighed. "I've always been so _weak_ …"

Ahiru shook her head. "No, you're not! You're -"

"But you make me stronger," Fakir continued, not seeming to notice her interruption. "You make me _better._ You've been so good for me, in so many ways."

"I-it's the same for me!" Ahiru brightened. "You make me feel stronger too, you always have. You've supported me so many times and made me feel braver. I think… I think we're _both_ weak in some ways, but strong in others, and we can be there for each other when we need it. And you've never let me down, Fakir. Not once." She smiled up at him. "And - and also… I'm sorry I didn't say it already, but you're definitely not hideous, not at _all_. Not to me. I love you and I'm really, really attracted to you and this hasn't changed that, not one bit. It never will."

"I…" Fakir felt himself blushing again. "Well, you… you say that now, and… not that I don't believe you, but…" He trailed off to gather his thoughts into coherent words, and she looked up at him with curiosity in her eyes. "You… you mentioned… something we'll eventually do, and…" If anything proved he wasn't remotely ready for it, it was the fact that he couldn't even call it what it was out loud, to say nothing of how much he was blushing at merely alluding to it. "When that… when we… are you going to be okay with how I am then?" His voice became softer. "Will it bother you to touch me, to _be_ touched? To… feel this against you? Will you be okay with that?"

"Of course I'll be okay!" Ahiru nodded. "I've already touched you there and hugged you, I'm obviously fine with it now, that's not gonna change. You don't have to worry that I wouldn't. I mean, if you don't want me to touch you there because it makes you feel weird, I completely understand and I won't, but if you're just worried that I'd have a problem with it, you don't have to. I'm really okay with it, okay?"

"All right." He stroked her cheek again. "I wouldn’t blame you, though, if you did. I… know it's not exactly appealing, so if you _were_ put off, I'd understand."

Ahiru frowned. She had a feeling she already knew the answer to this, but the question needed to be asked anyway. "Fakir, if... if I had this..." She gestured to his scarred chest. "On me somewhere... would you think _I_ was disgusting and gross? Would you be repulsed by _me?_ "

"What? Of course not!" Fakir looked horrified. "I would never... oh, Ahiru... you don't have to worry about something like that..."

"I know. I'm not." Ahiru shook her head. "Really. I just... I wanted to point out... you're so sweet to me, so... so please... you should treat yourself the way you treat me. Be kinder to yourself. You deserve it." She paused, and her voice shook a little when she spoke again. "And also… please… try not to hate yourself anymore. I know it's hard, but… you've suffered enough, it's just too sad if you keep being mean to yourself on top of that. You're not a monster."

"… I'll try." He swallowed. "I can't promise you immediate results, but I will try."

"That's okay, you don't have to. I know that kind of thing takes time and sometimes you have setbacks too… I'm still learning to - oh yeah." Ahiru bit her lip. "I - I'm really sorry. About before… it must've made you feel bad to see me being silly about my hair, you probably thought something like… 'if she thinks _that_ looks bad, what's she going to think of _me?_ ' S-sorry…"

"No, I didn't. It's all right." Fakir stroked her hair. "I know how people have made you feel about yourself, and how hard that is to get past. Like you said, it takes time and sometimes there are setbacks. It's important for us to acknowledge those difficulties and support each other."

"Yeah… yeah, you're right…" Ahiru smiled at him for a moment, and then moved closer and put her arms around him in another hug. He didn't hesitate in returning the embrace, holding her tightly and leaning his head against hers. She could feel his heart beating where her head was pressed to his chest, and it was a comforting reminder that _yes_ , he'd lived through the horrible fire that had put these scars on him and claimed his parents' lives. He was alive and well and here with her and he loved her; all that meant the world to her.

It was a little strange, maybe, but it seemed like the shirt he'd removed had been a bigger, thicker barrier than mere cloth and thread. Something _huge_ between them had been torn down now that she'd seen him like this, and there was a sense of a deeper peace and understanding between them that hung in the air. It felt so _good_ to hold him and be held like this, to be so close, both emotionally _and_ physically. Ahiru blushed a little at that thought, but Fakir didn't see it. Even if he'd been able to look at her face, his eyes were closed as he simply enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms, enjoyed the knowledge that she was okay with the way his body looked. He still felt a little exposed, but it was lessening, giving way to a new sensation of increased intimacy with her. Her soft, gentle warmth was doing much to effect that change.

After a while, though, Fakir was the first to pull back, and he smiled down at Ahiru. "What do you want to do now?"

"W-well, first you should put some of that lotion on, if - if you're going to stay like this, and then… and then you wanna go exploring?" Ahiru's eyes sparkled. "I'm not that hungry yet, but I kinda want to take a walk and go see what we can find!"

"All right." He laughed softly. "If you insist, I'll put some of that stuff on. You'll have to get my back, though."

"Of course!" Ahiru paused, and then tentatively plunged. "Um, well, though… I could - I could do it _all_ for you if you wanted, if - if you don't want to get it on your hands…"

"… Are you sure?" He was grateful for the idea, as he hadn't actually been thrilled with the idea of looking down at himself to apply the cream, but he didn't want her doing something she wasn't entirely comfortable with.

"Yep!" Ahiru nodded. "So sit down, and I'll take care of it for you. I promise I won't miss a spot!"

"… Thank you." Fakir went back to the blanket, and sat down. Ahiru knelt beside him, and opened up the bottle. Neither of them spoke as she applied the protective ointment to his chest, his arms, his stomach, and finally his back, but they didn't really need to; they could each sense what the other was feeling, read it in their eyes whenever their gazes met. And not only that, but Fakir caught Ahiru blushing more than once as she touched him and rubbed the lotion into his skin, which made _him_ blush. Despite things like this and her frequent shy compliments once they'd gotten together, he was still trying to adjust to the idea of being found attractive by anyone. It was obvious that Ahiru did, but he had trouble understanding it. Which, come to think of it, probably made her as sad for him as it made him sad for her when _her_ insecurities were on display. It was one more thing they had in common.

"All done!" Ahiru put the bottle aside and sat back to admire him. She'd done a nice, thorough job, making sure every inch was covered and there were no streaky bits where she hadn't rubbed the lotion all the way in. And it had felt really good to touch so much of him, though she'd blushed a lot too. Her attraction to him hadn't lessened in the slightest, and she hoped he knew that. "Wanna go now?"

"Yeah." They both stood up, and he took her hand before they started walking, giving her fingers a little squeeze. Ahiru beamed up at him, and then tugged his hand and began to lead him in the direction she wanted to go.

She led him down to the edge of the water, where they let the tide tickle their toes a bit before moving on alongside it. They walked around - and sometimes - through small pools, around big rocks, and Fakir helped her climb over one that wasn't too large, at her request. Pretty shells began to litter the sand more and more as they went on, and they each picked out one for the other. Ahiru chose a black shell in a spiral shape that had an iridescent green interior for Fakir, and for Ahiru Fakir chose a pretty one that had a shape reminiscent of a clam and was a shiny gold on the inside and a pearlescent white on the outside.

"Maybe this is where the gold sand bits come from," Ahiru mused as she examined her shell. "Maybe they kind of break up sometimes or they did a long long time ago and we're still seeing bits and pieces."

"Could be." Fakir shrugged. "It's something to look into; I'd like to know too."

"There's a library back at the house, right?" Ahiru tried to remember. "We could check there!"

"If we're not too busy." Fakir laughed. "If we don't find anything, there's always the library back home, it's pretty likely to have what we're looking for."

"That's true," Ahiru conceded. They kept walking on, as the shoreline grew progressively more narrow, until finally they came to its end. And waiting at that end was - "A cave!" Ahiru exclaimed. "Oh! We - we should explore it! Do you want to?" She turned excitedly to Fakir. "There - there might be mermaids inside or - or buried pirate treasure or - anything really! I wanna see, do you?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." He couldn't help but smile at her boundless enthusiasm. "Let's send our shells back to the rest of our things, though, so we don't drop them inside and lose them."

"Oh! Oh yeah! Good idea!" They both sent their shells off to wait on their blanket for them, and then Ahiru took Fakir's hand as they headed inside.

Only for a short way did they have any illumination from the daylight that poured in; they were soon cloaked in the darkness of the cave. Not total darkness, however, for once they were past the point of the last ray of sunlight small dots of steady, unwavering light began to appear in the walls and low ceiling of the cave tunnel. They appeared one by one at first but then began to come out seemingly exponentially, providing a way for them to see in the gloom well enough that neither one needed to summon a lighting spell, and in fact they extinguished them so they could better look at the pretty lights.

"Wow…" Ahiru gazed around in wonder. "What do you think they are?"

"I don't know." Fakir shook his head. "Some kind of naturally luminescent rock, most likely… another thing for us to look up."

"Yeah." Ahiru beamed. "Wow… it's so neat to go to other worlds and see stuff you don't get to see at home!" She squeezed his hand. "A-and I'm so glad you're here to share it with me…"

Fakir smiled. "Me too."

Soon enough, the sound of water reached their ears, and before too long they emerged in a wide room dominated by a large, dark pool over which insects that vaguely resembled fireflies darted and danced. It was hard to say why, but there was a deeply serene and peaceful atmosphere to it all, as though this were someone's private retreat that they had stumbled upon.

"It's so _pretty,_ " Ahiru breathed. "A-and look!" She tugged on Fakir's hand and pulled him along, closer to the edge of the pool. "There - back there…" She pointed at something in the water with her free hand. "Doesn't it look like… like there's a little tunnel underwater there? Do you think mermaids swim in here from the outside to play or relax?"

"It does. And they probably do." Fakir's mouth quirked into a teasing smile. "If you really _were_ a duckling, you could swim through it too and see what's on the other side."

Ahiru giggled. "Oh, Fakir, you're so silly! But - but you're also so creative, so that makes you a good writer… maybe you could do a story about this cave or something."

"If I can think of a way to use it somehow… yeah." He nodded, looking thoughtful. "It's too good a location _not_ to base something on… I just have to come up with _what_."

"I'm sure you can." She squeezed his hand. "I have faith in you. You always come up with good stuff."

His blush at that was visible even in the dim light. "Th-thanks…"

"Y-you're welcome. A-and, um…" Ahiru blushed too, though her expression became more serious. "Thank _you_ … for letting me see you like this. I know it must've been scary and you had to really trust me to want to do it, so… thank you. It means a lot to me. You don't have to take your shirt off around other people if you're not comfortable, obviously, but I hope you know now that you don't have to worry about what I think. A-and if helps, I think… I think you look really good," she added in a whisper, her face turning even redder. "If - if that's okay to say…"

"I… no, I… no, it's… it's not a bad thing, I just…" Fakir stared at her, trying to gather his thoughts and make them coherent even as his heart started racing from hearing that. "I don't… really understand why you think that, but I appreciate it. I'm… just glad you're not repelled."

"Not at all." Ahiru moved closer to him and leaned up on her toes, putting her free hand on his shoulder for support. "I told you… I love you and I'm really really attracted to you."

"I love you too," Fakir whispered, his voice hoarse and thick with emotion. "And I feel the same way towards you."

As if to prove it, he let go of her hand, but only so he could pull her closer and kiss her. Ahiru responded eagerly, kissing him back with equal passion as she clung to him and pressed herself to him. They stayed in the cave a good long while like that, alternating kisses with brief moments of breath-catching, until they became too hungry to delay lunch any further. Only then did they reluctantly walk back out into the daylight and back to their picnic blanket, holding hands and sharing smiles all the way. Their date had gone in a wholly unexpected direction, but was all the sweeter and more wonderful for the ultimate result.


	3. Chapter 3

Rain streamed steadily down Ahiru's bedroom window so thickly that the world outside was but a dark, wet blur, and the sound of it was so loud that she could just barely hear the crashing of the waves against the shore. Thankfully, there was no thunder or lightning to frighten her, only a relentless downpour and a restless sea. Yet she couldn't help but sigh as she watched it continue to storm, and made a little pouty face at the window before turning away and padding towards the door, comb and a dry ribbon in hand. Her hair was all the way dry now – helped along by magic, of course – and just needed to be braided again.

Since she wasn't in the mood to be alone while she did so, she made her way just down the hall to Fakir's room and knocked on the door. "Fakir? A-are you in there? C-can I come in?"

"Ahiru?" He sounded a little surprised, but she nevertheless heard his footsteps moving towards the door. "Yeah… of course…"

"Th-thank…" Her voice trailed off as the door swung open. Fakir had on a loose white shirt that he hadn't buttoned up all the way, an old pair of shorts, and was barefoot with his hair loose around his shoulders. Her blush was instant. "Th-thank you…"

"… Y-yeah, I…" Fakir swallowed, an identical blush building in his face as he saw Ahiru standing in the hall, wrapped up in her little robe, with her long, bright hair undone. He'd only seen her with her hair down once before, back on New Year's, and it had the same effect on him now that it had then. The big difference was that now he could openly stare at her and tell her how lovely she looked, provided he found the words to do so. "I don't mind, it's… I mean… oh, right." He stepped aside, his blush deepening. "Come in…"

"Th-thanks…" She smiled, feeling her heart flutter as she walked past him. "Oh, um…" She paused and turned around before she'd gotten very far into the room. "Could you close it? All the way? I mean… I – I know nobody's here but in case someone comes back it'd be nice to have privacy and it just feels more private anyway…"

"Yeah, sure." Fakir shut the door behind her. He'd been intending to leave it open, but if she wanted it closed he didn't mind. "So… ah… you're all dried off now?" He internally winced. What a silly question, obviously she was.

"Y-yeah!" Ahiru nodded. "I – I took a hot bath first to get warm, and then I got myself and my hair all dry, a-and now… now I just have to braid it again and I thought…" She twisted her hands together. "I thought maybe I could do that in here… if – if that's okay…"

"Of course it's okay." Fakir moved to stand closer to her. "I'm… not going to say no to spending time with you." He blushed again.

"I – I know." She blushed too. "A-and especially cause – cause our date got ruined." She sighed. "Sorry… it wasn't supposed to rain, it was supposed to be sunny today…"

"Idiot. It's not your fault." He touched her cheek. "And really, nothing got ruined but the food, and we were almost done eating anyway."

"Th-that's true, but… but our date…"

"Can continue here." Fakir let his fingers slide into her hair. He'd never gotten to touch it like this before, and it felt nice; her hair was so pretty, and silky-soft. "If you want."

"Of – of course I – I'm happy to spend time with you too, you know that." Her voice was a little shaky as she moved closer to him, and her eyes were half-lidded already. "As – as long as we're happy and having fun, then… then it's still a date, right?"

"Yeah." Fakir nodded. His fingers brushed the nape of her neck as he continued to gently run them through her hair, and he felt her shiver. "It is." He bent and kissed her cheek, and Ahiru's eyes closed completely, even as she stood up on her toes to meet him. Another kiss to her cheek followed, and then he lifted her off her feet a little and softly touched his lips to hers. The comb she held tumbled to the floor beside them at the contact; no sooner had the sound reached their ears than Ahiru leaned up into him and kissed him more fervently while wrapping her arms around him.

"Mmmm…" Ahiru sighed against his lips as they kissed. One of her hands slid up around his neck, her fingers threading into his hair. He looked so good with his hair loose, and it felt good too, soft and slightly damp still. Her other hand, the one with the ribbon still held between her fingers, crept up to lay on his chest where some of it was exposed by his open shirt; he shuddered a little and she felt him gasp even as they kept kissing. It was so new to be able to touch him there, and she liked it, she liked the feel of his skin and the effect it had on him.

They kissed for a few minutes more, before reluctantly breaking apart so they could breathe. Fakir leaned his forehead against hers while they caught their breath, and then gently let her down onto the floor. He didn't let go of her, though, pulling her close and holding her while stroking her hair again. Ahiru pressed her face to him and wrapped her arms around him, letting out a happy sigh at his touch.

"… I love your hair." His voice was soft and shy, and if she'd looked up she would've seen him blushing. "I've always thought it was beautiful."

Ahiru did pull back now, and the blush on her face outshone his. "R-really?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "You're like a little Rapunzel."

Ahiru giggled a little at that. "B-but her hair was golden. Mine's red."

"I know." Fakir threaded his fingers into her lengthy locks. "I like the red more. It suits you."

"Eeeeee, thank you…" She ducked her head a little, blushing, but she couldn't hide her happy smile from him. Fakir saw it and smiled back. "I – I really like your hair too. And you look so handsome with it loose like this…"

It was his turn to blush deeply at being complimented. "I… th-thanks… I don't think it compares to yours, though…"

"That's cause you _shouldn't_ compare them." Ahiru shook her head. "You like mine cause it's really bright, right?" When he nodded, she went on. "Well, I like yours cause it's really dark and it suits _you_ the way you say mine suits _me_. An-and it's so dark, in fact, that sometimes when you're outside and the sunlight hits it just right, I can see green in it, like your eyes. That's why I picked those irises for your flower crown on Halloween, cause they reminded me of your hair and I thought they were beautiful." She blushed. "I – I had a crush on you back then but I didn't know it yet…"

"Halloween…" Despite how hot his face felt, Fakir couldn't help but sink into reminiscences about it. "What I remember best about that night is reading that story with you to Uzura…"

"Oh yeah! Tam Lin, right?" Ahiru's face lit up. "That was fun! Although it must've been so embarrassing for you and it kinda was for me too, especially after I read the real thing later and found out what they really did and Rue's suggestion had already made me picture us as the characters while we were reading so that was… a-and during the whole thing I kept wanting to giggle at the thought of you saying that stuff to me and kissing my hand, cause I couldn't picture you doing that at all. Not – not that I thought you couldn't, I just… thought you wouldn't _want_ to, not with _me_ , even if I wanted you to, which I know I did cause of the funny way it made me feel inside when I thought about it happening."

"I _did_ want to. I mean – I _do_ want to," Fakir corrected himself, his voice quiet. "It _was_ mortifying, yeah… because I already had feelings for you too and there we were reading a romantic story I already knew the real version of out loud, playacting the roles of lovers in front of everyone else, and Rue somehow already knew how I felt. I think that's why she made that suggestion." He rubbed some of her hair between his fingers. "She'd… already teased me earlier that night about the red roses you'd chosen for that crown, saying that they symbolized true love in the language of flowers and maybe you were trying to tell me something."

"Really?" Ahiru's eyes widened. "Oh, th-that's… I mean, I know it was embarrassing for you at the time, but now it seems like a really nice coincidence, doesn't it? Or maybe it wasn't one, if Chrestomanci's right about the no coincidences thing."

"Maybe." He smiled again, and felt his heart flutter at the smile she gave him in return. "A-anyway, I… I wanted to ask you…" He took a deep breath. "Could I… would you mind if… if I braided your hair for you?"

Fresh surprise filled Ahiru's eyes. "You – you know how?"

"I do, yeah," Fakir said. "Raetsel used to make me do it for her and Rue years ago."

Ahiru frowned. "That doesn't sound like it was much fun for you if they _made_ you do it…"

He shrugged. "I didn't mind. They didn't care if I just let my mind wander to whatever I wanted while they talked, so I'd use the time to think about things, usually stories I'd make up in my head. But even if I'd hated it it'd be different with you." He rubbed her scalp a little with his fingertips, and she shivered again. "You know that."

Ahiru giggled. "Yeah, yeah, you're right… a-and of course you can if you really want to, I – I'd love it."

"I do." Fakir smiled. "Thank you."

"O-of course, thank _you_." Ahiru smiled too.

He retrieved her comb from the floor, and followed her as she walked over to the bed and sat down. Like her, he had a view of the ocean from his room, and also like he'd left the curtains open just enough to give them another blurred view of the wet world outside. As Fakir sat beside her, she turned and leaned close to him, pressing her face to his shoulder. He responded by putting his arms around her and holding her close in another hug. As they sat there Ahiru became conscious for the first time of how little she was wearing. She only had on her robe and a pair of panties beneath it, and he wasn't wearing much either, so there was very little – and very _thin_ – cloth separating their bodies. After a moment of thought, however, she decided she didn't mind, and that there was actually something kind of nice about it. They weren't going to do anything more than kissing and holding each other and maybe a few shy touches here and there, of course. But all the same it contributed to the feeling of a deeper intimacy and comfort level with each other, physically and emotionally alike, that had been growing ever since he'd shown her his scars the other day. There were a lot of things on the physical side of their relationship that they weren't ready for yet, but they would get there, and being comfortable with their own bodies and each others' bodies, being able to trust each other not to push things the other wasn't ready for, were important steps on that road. And she _did_ trust him, completely, as she knew he trusted her.

He let go of her after a few minutes, but not before kissing the top of her head and ruffling her cowlick. Ahiru giggled a little at that, and turned her back so he could get started. She couldn't help but remember what he'd told her the other day about it reminding him of a feather, and how cute he found it.

"Do you still feel self-conscious about that?" Fakir asked as he began to comb her hair. It was so long, and he silently marveled again at the gorgeous color. He'd never seen a shade quite like it.

"I – I dunno," Ahiru admitted. "I mean, I don't right _now_ , but maybe sometime in the future I will again, cause I'll remember how I used to get teased or scolded for not being able to make my hair behave, or someone will react weirdly at some point… but at least when that happens I can think back to what you said and it'll comfort me, you know?" She closed her eyes and let herself smile at the feel of his fingers on her hair as he kept combing it. "Y-you're always so good at comforting me and making me feel better."

"I'm glad. You deserve it." Fakir stroked her hair a little, and heard her let out another happy sigh. "I… well, for starters this is the first time I've ever been with anyone, so I don't really know what I'm doing. And I've never been good with other people in general. Between that and how I've felt about myself after the fire, I've… only ever seen the bad in myself. I never understood why those girls were obsessed with me, not when I knew what I'm really like and when I knew they'd flee at the sight of the scars if I let them see. I'm not used to any of this."

"W-well, I've never been with anyone either, but… I think you're doing a really good job." She wished she could turn and look at him, but he'd started separating her hair for braiding. "Cause you treat me really really well, you don't do anything bad and you show me every day with your actions that you really do care about me and respect me and love me. You're so good to me. An-and even before that, way before we got together you were great too, you've been such a wonderful friend to me. Remember how you helped me study, and took care of me when I smelled the dragon's blood and felt sick? And you've never gotten impatient with me for being scared of stairs or made fun of me for anything else. And I know you didn't do any of that cause you wanted something from me, either."

"Of course not." Fakir shook his head. "I never expected anything from you. I _wanted_ to do those things, because I _do_ care about you. Because you deserve that kind of support."

"Y-yeah, see?" Ahiru clasped her hands together under her chin, feeling her heart swell anew with love and warmth. "That's why you're so wonderful to me, cause you're such a genuinely kind person. You may not see good things in yourself, but I see lots of them."

"And I see so many in you too," Fakir said quietly as he carefully braided her hair. "Don't ever think it's been one-sided. You’ve done so much for me too. You've been kind and understanding and compassionate towards me and the things I've done, in ways I thought no one ever could be. You comforted me on the anniversary, and have supported me and looked out for my feelings on many other occasions besides. You encouraged my writing, and made me feel brave enough to admit to it in front of the others. And the other day… you didn't run or retch at the sight of me, and that meant a lot." He leaned forward and kissed the back of her head. "You're wonderful. I need you to know that."

"I… oh, F-Fakir, th-thank you…" Her fingers found the top of her robe and clutched at it a little, as a means of fighting off the tears that were suddenly threatening to spill out of her eyes.

"Of course." He hesitated, and then leaned forward again, this time kissing the part of her neck left bare by her robe. Ahiru gasped as she felt it, a shiver of pure pleasure shooting through her. "You're so important to me," Fakir whispered into her ear, just before leaving a shy, feather-light kiss on the lobe that made her gasp again. "I hope you know _that_ , too."

"I – of course I do," Ahiru said breathlessly. He'd never kissed her in either of those spots before, and her heart was racing both from surprise that he had and how good it had felt. "Y-you're so important to me too, I hope _you_ know that…"

"Don't worry. I've never doubted it." Fakir paused. "Was – was it okay that I kissed you there? I'm sorry, I should've asked first…"

"N-no, it's fine!" Ahiru started to shake her head, then thought better of it. "It – it felt really good, you should… do it more often." She was grateful he couldn't see her face as it turned a bright shade of red that very nearly matched her hair.

"All right." He traced a finger down her back, and she shivered. "I will, then."

"G-good, cause… cause like I said, I really liked it."

"I'm glad." Fakir laid his hand on her shoulder, wanting to reach for her hand but not wanting to accidentally touch the wrong part of her body. "Can I have that ribbon now? I need to secure this."

"Oh! Oh, of course!" Ahiru lifted her hand and held the ribbon up over her shoulder; Fakir took it and proceeded to neatly tie it around the end of her braid.

"There." He gave her braid one final stroke. "All done."

"Th-thank you!" Ahiru turned, finally, to face him now, with a smile on her face. "That was… that was really nice, you should do that again sometime. I – I mean, if you want…"

"I will, then." He ruffled the top of her hair again. "Don't worry."

"Okay, good!" Ahiru beamed. "Oh, um, also…"

"Yeah?" Fakir stroked her bangs a little, and the shorter parts of her hair that fell free around her face.

"Well, I… I'm kinda tired now, so I was wondering… could we lie down?" Ahiru fidgeted. "I mean, if you want me to go back to my own room I will, but… but I kinda want to stay in here…"

"We?" Fakir asked. "You… want me to lie down with you?" He was willing to, of course, but only if she was comfortable with it too.

"Y-yeah." She frowned. "Do you not want to?"

"It's not that." He shook his head. "I was just making sure that's what you actually want."

"I do." Ahiru nodded. "Is – is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course it is." He kissed her forehead. "Don't worry."

"O-okay, good." Ahiru blushed a little.

Ahiru laid down on the bed then; Fakir put her comb on his bedside table and then moved to the other side so he could lie down beside her. She was on her back when he climbed onto the bed, but then rolled over onto her side and snuggled close to him. Fakir smiled and slipped his arm around her to draw her in closer and hold her.

"Have you had a good time today?" He kissed her cheek, so close to her mouth that it took her breath away. "I know things didn't go as planned, but… have you been able to enjoy yourself anyway?"

"Y-yeah." Ahiru nodded, and reached up to touch his cheek and smooth some of his hair away from his eyes. "It's been really nice, just being with you like this… wh-what about you, have you had fun too?"

"Of course." He kissed her nose, and she giggled. "Don't worry."

"Yay, I'm glad." She smiled at him, and then leaned in to kiss him. She saw his eyes close just before hers did, heard him let out a sigh of his own as their lips met. Her hand slipped down to stroke his hair, and the back of his neck; he shivered and then deepened the kiss, tentatively slipping his tongue into her mouth, just a little. She touched hers to it just as shyly, and felt both their hearts beat faster where their bodies were pressed together. He held her tightly but gently, and stroked her back a bit as they kept kissing. Partway through the kiss she took his lower lip between hers and sucked on it a little. That made him gasp, and they paused for air after she stopped, breathing heavily and opening their eyes slightly to look at each other. They saw faint flushes in each other's cheeks, and it spurred Ahiru to kiss him again, ever so lightly. Fakir returned it, leaving several small, soft kisses on her mouth to tease her until she couldn't stand it anymore and gave him another deep, lingering kiss full on the lips, her hand once again moving down to lie firmly on his partly exposed chest. He made a little noise of pleasure against her mouth at that, his hands tightening a little on her.

When they broke apart once more, she hesitated for a minute before leaning in to leave a shy little kiss on his neck, making him gasp. She followed that up by nuzzling him a little and taking a deep breath. He smelled really good – like whatever soap he'd used that day, with a trace of the scent of rain still clinging to his hair. He never used anything fancy on himself, but he didn't need to, she liked the way he smelled just fine. It was warm and comforting and very _Fakir_ ; it made her want to be this close to him all the time.

"Mmmm." Ahiru rubbed her face against his neck one more time and let out a little sigh before pulling back to look at him. "I love you."

He never tired of hearing that, and didn't think he ever would. Nor would he ever tire of saying it back to her. " I love you too."

"I'm happy." Ahiru smiled, and closed her eyes again as she snuggled up to him. "You make me so happy…"

"Good." Fakir closed his eyes too, as a quiet but no less deep joy spread through him. "Because you make me happy too…"

Silence fell between them, as they simply held each other and listened to the rain and each other's breathing. They eventually fell asleep like that, curled up in each other's arms in the dimly lit room, and didn't wake up until it was early evening and the storm had mostly subsided.

It hadn't been a typical date, but it had perhaps been better than their original plans for it would've been, if the way they felt when they awoke together was any indication.


	4. Chapter 4

A myriad of sights, smells, and sounds greeted Ahiru as she stepped off the ferry. The bright sun illuminated everything perfectly, from the sand of the beach to the tall rides in the distance, and the noise of the crowd and everything happening all at once drowned out the sound of the ocean waves and the seagulls crying. She could faintly smell the salt air, but even at this distance it blended with the scents of the carnival drifting her way on the wind. It would've been overwhelming if not for how excited she felt to be in such a place, the first time she'd ever gotten to go anywhere like this.

"Wow…" Her mouth hanging slightly open with awe, she took a tentative step forward, wanting to see more while at the same time not wanting to stray too far from the others. "It's… wow. I've never seen anything like it… not even back home…"

"We went to something a little like this at the seashore a few years ago," Rue said from behind her. "But honestly, as fun as that was, it doesn't compare to this."

"Y-yeah, that makes sense." All the same, Ahiru couldn't help but feel a twinge of wistfulness: her childhood had been so bereft of fun times, and she could vividly remember seeing crowds of people making for the lakeshore from her bedroom window on summer days like this, both at her uncle's house and the orphanage. It would've been nice to have something to compare this to, even if this place outshone it.

Oh well. She was here now, with people who actually cared about her, and that was much more important in the end.

"What do you want to do first?" Fakir took her hand as he asked the question, and warmth spread through her from his touch.

"I – I don't know." Her heart fluttered a little as she caught sight of him. "I – I've never been to something like this before, you'll have to show me where to go and what to do and stuff…"

"Well, I've never been to this particular one, so we can explore together." He squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

"Did you hear that, Uzura?" Rue nudged her. "Sounds like they're planning to ditch us."

"Wh-what? No!" Ahiru shook her head. "We're not – "

"That's mean zura." Uzura pouted. "I want to have fun with Ahiru and Fakir too zura."

"Isn't it, though?" Rue agreed. "And this after _my_ date ditched me, so I have to see them wander off all lovey-dovey while I'm all alone. Aside from you, that is."

"I – what?" Flustered as she was, Ahiru still managed to seize on something in Rue's words that might take the conversational heat off her and Fakir. "He – he didn't want to come spend time with you today?"

"Huh? Oh, no, Ahiru, it's not like that – I'm only joking." Rue laughed. "Don't worry. He wanted to be here, but he cancelled at the last minute because there was important official business of some sort. He did truly regret it, he said, and promised to come join us for some fun as soon as he can. I'm only teasing you two."

"Is Mama coming too zura?" Uzura asked.

"I don't know." Rue shook her head. "She got called away to her job for an emergency, it may take a while. Or only a short time. We never can tell. But she doesn't want us to wait for her, in any case, so let's go have some fun." She reached down and took Uzura's hand. "You have to stay with me, though, so you don't get lost in the crowds. All right?"

"Okay zura!"

All manner of little shops lined the boardwalk they'd disembarked on, just beyond which sat the very edge of the carnival. They'd been given plenty of pocket money in the local currency, so they weren’t worried about being able to pay for anything, be it souvenirs or games or food. Rue spotted Fakir looking wistfully at one of the stores, and chuckled. "Come on, Fakir, keep moving. We have plenty of books in the castle library, there's no need to go a-browsing here and bore the rest of us when we want to get to the fair already."

Fakir flushed. "I – I know there are a lot of books back home, idiot. I just – there might be things here the castle library doesn't have, and I wasn't _asking_ to stop and look, so – shut up."

"Temper, temper," Rue murmured, smirking at him. Fakir's eyes narrowed, and he would've said something biting if Ahiru hadn't squeezed his hand, distracting him so that he glanced down at her.

"It's okay," she said softly. "We'll come back here tomorrow and look around. It wouldn't bore me, I'd like to see too."

"… All right." He relaxed, and gave her a small smile. "That… sounds good."

If Ahiru had been hoping she wouldn't hear their conversation, Rue didn't know; either way, she rolled her eyes while smiling to herself. _Dorks_. They really were meant for each other, because they were both so silly at times. It _was_ nice to see them both happy, though, even if it kind of made her feel a little lonely right now because her planned date had fallen through.

She might have gone on in that train of thought if Uzura hadn't tugged hard on her hand before rushing forward, nearly causing her to lose first her grip on her and then her own balance. "Ooooohhhh! Look zura!"

"Uzura, w-wait –" Rue struggled to keep hold of Uzura's hand while also keeping up and keeping herself upright. "Not so fast…" Behind her, Fakir and Ahiru quickened their pace as they followed.

"Sorry zura." Uzura stopped short, and Rue somehow managed not to plow into her or fall over. "But look zura!" She pointed at the little stand she'd led them to. "We should wear them like on Halloween zura!"

"Flower crowns, eh?" Despite her faint annoyance at having been dragged along like this, Rue couldn't help but start to smile at the sight of the colorful circlets constructed from flowers native to this world. "Not a bad idea. You want one for yourself?" She reached into her bag for her money. "Pick one and I'll buy it for you."

" _All_ of us zura." Uzura's tone was very firm. "Like on Halloween zura."

"Oh, _all_ of us? All right." She cast a swift, smirking glance at the other two, relishing the thought of Fakir wearing a flower crown in _public_ this time. "I don't mind buying four of them."

"No need." Fakir folded his arms. "I'll buy my own." At least this way he'd get to pick out his own, and besides, almost everyone else here was wearing one already. It wouldn't be that bad. He didn't have the heart to hurt Uzura's feelings in any case. Which Rue knew, damn her.

"Y-yeah, I can buy my own too, don't worry about it," Ahiru said, and she stepped up to browse the selection herself. She picked one made of yellow and blue flowers, while Rue selected purple and red, Fakir a simple blue one, and Uzura picked one made of all different colors. They each paid for theirs, aside from Uzura, and put them on before walking away.

"We all look pretty zura," Uzura observed from her vantage point in the middle of the four.

"Yes we do." Ahiru smiled down at her. "It was a great idea, Uzura. And you look the prettiest!"

"Oooohhh! Thank you zura!" She let go of Rue's hand so that she could clap briefly, but Rue soon grabbed her hand again.

"Uzura, I _told_ you not to let go," Rue said, in a scolding tone of voice. "We have to stay together and you _have_ to keep hold of my hand." Odds were they could easily find her thanks to magic even if she got lost, but she still didn't want to take a chance, and it was an important lesson for Uzura besides. She didn't want her thinking she could just disregard rules for her safety just because enchanter's magic was an option here. She wouldn't always be around enchanters, after all.

"Sorry zura." Uzura hung her head. "I forgot zura…"

"… It's all right." Rue sighed. "I know you just got excited, I understand…" She looked around for something to distract her from how sad she looked just now, and quickly found it. "Oh! Look at that man, Uzura! He's juggling! And with _sparkles!_ "

"Oooooohhhh?" Uzura looked up, and directed her gaze where Rue pointed. "Ooooohhhh! Sparkles zura!" She almost started to clap again, but Rue kept a firm hold on her hand. "Wow zura…"

She wasn't the only one to take an interest in him, so Fakir, being the tallest, let go of Ahiru's hand so that he could lift Uzura onto his shoulders as they moved closer. Dressed in clothes reminiscent of a medieval jester from their world – but with some obvious differences that marked him as a Series Five native – the man juggled several balls at a speed that made it impossible to definitively count them all. Even more than that, though, he made some of them sparkle and shimmer as they went up in the air, while dousing the others, timing it perfectly so that he never caught a glittery one. Uzura wanted to swing her legs out of excitement but Fakir, not particularly interested in either her falling or his face getting kicked, firmly held them in place. In lieu of that, Uzura resorted to flapping her arms and clapping, resulting in him getting a few smacks anyway.

Which meant that he was secretly relieved when it turned out that they'd come in at the tail end of his show. The juggler was soon taking bows while people clapped, and putting the balls into some sort of bag before walking off. Fakir let Uzura down onto the ground then, and took Ahiru's hand once more while Rue took Uzura's. He rubbed one side of his head where Uzura had hit him, and Ahiru stood up on her toes to gently massage his other temple and kiss his cheek when she was done, making both of them blush.

"Where's he going zura?" Uzura asked, watching the man walk off. "I wanted to see more zura."

"Well, I'm sure he walks around and does little shows all over the place, so that everyone can see him," Rue replied. "And he needs to use the bathroom too, just like we do, and eat – he's a performer, but still human, so he needs breaks."

"Ooooohhh." Uzura nodded. "I see zura."

"Good." Rue smiled. "Now, what do you want to see next? I see there's some games down that way, and over this way is something called the Aquatic Tunnel of Terror."

"It's scary zura?" Her eyes went wide.

"Probably not that scary," Rue said reassuringly. "Don't worry, we don't have to go in."

"But I wanna see something scary zura!" Uzura tugged on Rue's hand. "Like sea monsters zura!"

"Oh! Well, in that case…" Rue glanced at Fakir and Ahiru. "Are you two okay with looking at sea monsters? Or are we the only ones brave enough to venture in?"

"They're scaredy-cats zura?"

"No, we'd love to go in with you!" Ahiru said before Rue could answer Uzura's question. "That sounds fun! Right, Fakir?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Let's go."

"Yay zura!" Uzura started to hurry off again, but remembered Rue's chastisement earlier and let her lead the way this time.

No actual sea monsters awaited them in the serpentine building that housed the Tunnel of Terror, but the creatures that swam about behind the glass were interesting enough that it didn't matter. Ahiru found herself most captivated by the giant jellyfish that drifted by, while Fakir took the most interest in the tall, tree-like fronds of seaweed and the beautiful seahorses and sea dragons that swam among their leaves. Rue meanwhile favored the various schools of brightly colored fish, and Uzura found everything neat, with her favorite by far being the bizarre ones that somehow managed to out-weird the deep sea creatures back home, with creepily ugly faces and giant eyes and fierce teeth and even some human-like appendages. Reaching the section with those, they could easily see why it had been called a Tunnel of Terror, even if they weren't particularly frightened by anything in there.

Uzura wanted to go again once they'd exited, and so they took another quick pass through before heading towards the "street" where various carnival games awaited them, offering all sorts of prizes to be won. Predictably, this drew Uzura's attention away from wanting to go through the tunnel a _third_ time, much to their relief.

"I want a prize zura." Uzura peered over the counter. A brightly colored array of several different prizes hung on the back of the game stand, to tempt all who walked by.

"All right." Fakir patted her head. "Find something you want at one of these and we'll win you one."

"I want that zura." She pointed to a large pinwheel on display at the stand they stood at currently.

"That?" Fakir exchanged an amused glance with both girls – trust Uzura to make what seemed like an odd choice. Nothing wrong with it, though. "All right. I'll give it a shot." He moved to stand at the counter beside her, and paid the young woman running it the fee required to play. She smiled at him and handed him what he'd need: a small slingshot and three pellets, with which he'd attempt to hit the correct moving target.

He had to pay a few more times before he finally hit it, but he got it in the end and selected the pinwheel Uzura had her eye on, which he promptly handed to her. "Yay zura!" she cheered as she waved it around, and then blew out a huge breath so she could see it spin around. "Ooooohhhh! Thank you zura!"

"You're welcome." He patted her head again and smiled.

"That was quicker than I thought it'd be," Rue commented. "You never used to be any good at that kind of thing when we were younger."

"Shut up." Fakir glared at her. "People _can_ get better, you know."

"Y-yeah, don't – don't be mean to him, Rue," Ahiru piped up, frowning. "Please, I want us all to have fun today, don't be like that."

"… Sorry." Rue sighed. "I just – I don't know, bad habit and I guess… sorry. I don't want to ruin today either." The truth was that she was feeling a little grouchy, due to the prince cancelling. On top of that, as much as she was glad that these two were happy together, seeing them holding hands constantly and giving each other affectionate little looks was beginning to grate on her, as it reminded her of how alone she was today when she _should_ have been on a date of her own. It was petty, sure, but she couldn't help it. All the same, however, she shouldn't take it out on them.

"Hmph." Fakir made a noncommittal noise and looked away. An awkward silence fell over them as they walked on, and lasted until Uzura spotted something at another stand.

"Ahiru! Look zura!" Uzura pointed enthusiastically at something behind this new counter. "A duck zura!"

"Wh-what? Oh! Oh, you're right!" Ahiru's eyes lit up. It was yellow and fluffy, with big blue eyes, and gigantic, even bigger than her duck pillow… and she absolutely _had_ to have it, there was no way she was walking away without it. "Oooh… I want to try to win it!" She dug into her little bag for money, and eagerly paid the man behind the counter the fee. He nodded and handed her three small metal spheres. The object of the game was to toss it into the correct little bowl of water – the one with the lotus flower in it – as they floated around in a bigger container of water on preset paths.

"Good luck." Fakir ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Th-thanks!" Ahiru blushed, and then took her first shot. "Oh… I missed… oh well, I have two more!" She squinted a little, took aim, and tossed it again. "Oh no…"

She ended up having to pay a couple more times, as Fakir had, but not as many: she succeeded on the third try of her third paid-for attempt to win. Uzura cheered loudly as the man took down the duck plushie and handed it to Ahiru, who immediately hugged it tightly to herself.

"Congratulations," Rue said warmly as they walked off. "You did very well, Ahiru."

"Yes, you did," Fakir agreed, moving to match his pace to Ahiru's now that they weren't holding hands anymore. "Good job."

"Th-thanks," Ahiru said, blushing. "It was fun… I've never done anything like that before…"

"Well, I'm glad you finally got to." Rue glanced around. "Anyway, any of you want to –"

"I'm hungry zura!"

"- get something to eat?" Rue chuckled. "All right, I know at least _two_ of us are hungry… so let's find somewhere that has food we want."

"Sounds good to me, I'm hungry too… oh, but, first let me put this away…" Ahiru hugged her duck one last time, and then sent it away, back to her bedroom on the private island. "I don't wanna get food on it…"

"Aw. I mean, I don't want you to get food on it either, but you did look cute carrying around a duck nearly as big as you are." Rue laughed.

"I – w-well, I, um…" Ahiru blushed. "I also was kinda afraid of tripping, I couldn't really see my feet while I was carrying it… but, um, th-thank you…"

"Of course." Rue nodded, and then returned her attention to scanning around the area for a good food place. They had their pick here, and a good variety tempted them; the problem would be narrowing it down to one or even two stands to get something from.

In the end, they did wind up getting food from two different places. A little bit of searching produced a table with enough chairs, and they sat down to eat together. Uzura sat beside Rue, and attempted to sample some of her lunch; she didn't like it much, though, so she turned her attention to trying to reach across the table to grab things from Ahiru and Fakir's plates. That earned her stern reprimands from Rue, but Ahiru said she could try her food if she asked politely, which Uzura did, and Fakir allowed her to also once that requirement had been met, restoring peace to the table.

Rue had just barely finished wiping Uzura's face clean when a question came forth: "Dessert now zura?"

"Dessert? Already?" Rue raised an eyebrow. "I don't know how you can still be hungry after all that, but okay… we'll find a good dessert place."

"H-how about that one?" Ahiru pointed to one just a short distance away. "I um… I spotted that one while we were looking for lunch places and it looked really good… they have candy floss in all kinds of colors and flavors, and I really want to try some…"

"Ooooohhhh!" Uzura clapped her hands together, making Rue sigh as she tried to wipe some more food off them. "That sounds good zura!"

They each ended up choosing a different color, which meant Uzura eagerly inquired if she could try some of everyone else's. Once she'd been satisfied in this new quest they kept moving, strolling through the crowded carnival and taking everything in. They went through some rides and attractions that allowed children as young as Uzura to go through, and that made her happy, but then they arrived at one that she was not allowed on and wouldn't be for at least a few years yet: the giant Ferris Wheel, though here it was called the Heavenly Wheel because of how huge and high up the top went.

"Oooohhh…" Uzura stared up at the people riding it. "So high zura…" She turned and looked at them, her eyes sparkling. "Let's ride it zura!"

"I…" Rue's eyes strayed to the painted board of wood that demonstrated how tall you had to be, at minimum, to ride the Heavenly Wheel, and sighed as it confirmed her suspicions. "I'm sorry, Uzura, but… you're not allowed on, you're too little."

"Awwwww, no fair zura!" Uzura stomped her foot. "I want to ride it zura!" Her expression became positively mutinous in a very familiar – and dreaded – way. "Not _fair_ zura!"

Rue opened her mouth to say something, but Ahiru intervened. "Uzura, it's okay. I can't go on it either."

"Huuuuuh? You either zura?" The anger in Uzura's expression changed to confusion as she peered up at Ahiru.

"Nope." Ahiru shook her head. "I'm too little too. And… if I don't grow anymore, which I might not, I won't ever be able to go on it. But you're still growing and you'll probably be taller than me, so you'll get to go on it someday and I'll just stand down here watching _you_. Does that seem more fair?"

"Hmmmm…" Uzura appeared to be considering it, and her face lit up as she arrived at her conclusion. "Yes zura!"

"I thought so." Ahiru giggled. "I'm kinda sad I can't go on with Fakir, but for now it makes me feel better that we're both stuck down here. You too?"

"Yes zura." Uzura nodded. "That's better zura."

"And you want to know what's even better than that?" Rue broke in, regaining Uzura's attention. "Look – over there is a carousel meant for kids your size and adults to ride together. Why don't you and I go on it, Uzura, and leave these two behind? They won't get to join in the fun and will have to just watch _us_."

"Oooohhhh! Sounds good zura!" She clapped her hands, and then promptly grabbed Rue's hand again so that she could be led off towards the carousel.

They got in line for it, while Ahiru and Fakir located themselves a good spot for watching the two go around. Ahiru leaned against the gate separating the spectators from the ride, and Fakir stood just behind her with his arm around her. After a minute of standing there, he gently nudged her. "You're not _that_ short."

Ahiru flushed. "I – I know. I just… I wanted to make her feel better, and I didn't really want to go on that thing anyway cause I'm afraid of heights but I didn't think telling her _that_ would make it better that she _couldn't_ go on it and I figured she'd believe it cause I am pretty little and I thought she would feel less alone and…" She turned a worried look on him. "Did – did I do a bad thing?"

"No." Fakir shook his head. "I don’t think so. I think… sometimes… you have to make up silly things like that, to make little kids feel less left out, like they're not being singled out for stuff. My parents and people around me did it to me too and it helped." He reached up to touch her hair. "You're really good with Uzura."

"Y-you think so?" Ahiru blushed, and her blush deepened when he nodded. "Awww, thanks… I'm glad, cause I love her, she's been such a great part of living at the castle."

"Yeah." Fakir stroked her hair a little. "She's… I was there already when she was born, so she's basically a younger sister to me… seeing her take to you and how well you treat her has always made me happy."

"Of course!" Ahiru nodded, her eyes wide. "I – I'd never be mean to her! Ever!"

"I know." He smiled, and she smiled back, and then they turned their attention to where Rue and Uzura had moved up far enough in line to finally get on the carousel. They laughed, and Ahiru cheered, and they both waved, as the two passed in front of them multiple times. Uzura, they were relieved to see, was securely strapped in atop the sea dragon she'd chosen to ride on, setting their minds at ease about any possible accidents.

"That was fun zura!" Uzura proclaimed as they stepped off the carousel and the next batch of people moved to take their places. "I want to go again zura!"

"Well, we have to wait in line again first," Rue said. She looked over at Ahiru and Fakir. "Look, I'll gladly take her around a couple more times – or more, cause I can't see her stopping at just _two_ go-rounds – but you don't have to stick around for all that. Go ahead and find something else to do for a while, we'll catch up to you when one of us gets bored."

"Are you sure?" Ahiru pressed her lips together. "I – I'd feel kinda bad about just ditching you like that…"

"Don't. I'm telling you to go, so it's fine. Really." And she meant it – she still felt vaguely envious and sad, but she was determined to shove those feelings aside so she didn't spoil Ahiru's first carnival trip. "Go have some fun together, go – get each other alone in a dark corner of that haunted house back there or something." She winked, and Ahiru blushed and giggled while Fakir turned red and started sputtering some incoherent answer. "I'll be fine. And I have to get back in line now, so just go!"

So saying, she hurried off with Uzura in tow to rejoin the end of the lengthy line for the carousel. Fakir and Ahiru watched her for a minute, and then headed off in the other direction, hand in hand so they wouldn't lose each other in the crowd.

"Where do you want to go first?" Fakir asked as they walked along.

"I dunno." Ahiru shrugged. "There's so many things to see that it's kinda overwhelming, and it's so _big_ here, that I have no idea where I am anymore or where to go. I guess, um… we could just wander around, then, and see what appeals to us? If that's okay…"

"That's fine." He squeezed her hand. "I have no more idea where we are than you do, so that works."

"Okay!" Ahiru smiled.

For a little while they did just that: simply wandered, in search of nothing in particular at all, merely taking in what the carnival had to offer and pausing briefly to see if this or that thing appealed to them. They bought each other small spun sugar treats at a little stand, watched some of a magic show, and slow-danced a little to live music being played in a park-like area.

Their wanderings eventually brought them to a ride they hadn't seen before, but were glad they'd discovered on their own. A journey in small, two-seater boats through a long and winding canal in darkness, it bore the name "Pleasure Cruise" and was clearly for couples to enjoy. One glance at each other was all it took, and with identical blushes on their faces they ducked into the relatively short line.

They didn't have to wait long before an attendant ushered them into a room where boats rocked gently in the water beneath faint, flickering lights mounted on the walls. "What a cute little couple," someone said from behind them as they climbed into their boat, and Ahiru hid her face in her hands, both to conceal her red cheeks and muffle her giggle. Fakir blushed again too, but when they were safely settled in he slipped his arm around her and leaned close.

"I think we are too," he whispered, his cheeks heating up. "All because of you, though."

"Th-that's silly," Ahiru whispered back. "It – it can't all be because of me, you're – you're cute too. I mean – you're handsome, I – oh, I don't want to insult you, I just… it can't be _just_ me, it's both of us, if we're cute together you're part of it too, oh I sound so silly I don't know what I'm saying…"

"It's all right." He kissed the top of her head. "I understand what you mean, and you didn't say anything insulting." He fell silent for a moment, and then spoke. "Sometimes I do wonder… if I look right next to you. I don't exactly come off as approachable, but you… you're so bright and friendly and sweet, and…"

"Oh Fakir, stop it," Ahiru shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with the way you are. I've wondered the same thing, though, cause I feel like I look so plain next to you, like _I_ don't fit with _you_ , and I feel like people must wonder what you see in me…"

"You don't." He squeezed her arm. "You're anything but plain. Not that that's the most important thing about you," he added. " I just… know that it makes you feel sad to think that and I don't want you to. And anyone who wonders that or thinks we don't fit with each other is wrong and a genuine idiot."

"Awwww, I – I'm glad you –" Ahiru abruptly cut herself off as the boats finally started moving, now that everyone had boarded theirs. The dim lighting of the entrance to the ride soon faded away, and only tiny, tiny glimmers from the walls illuminated the darkness. And even then it wasn't enough to really see each other by, much less the other boats. "Wow… it's so dark…"

"Yeah." Fakir's other hand moved to her lap, where he found her hand and squeezed it. "It's nice."

"Y-yeah, I like it." Ahiru rubbed his hand with her thumb, and then let go and shifted herself. "Especially cause… now I can do this." She laid her hand on his cheek and turned his face more towards hers, and leaned up to kiss him. Some stickiness from the candy they'd just eaten still lingered on his mouth, but that was okay, it tasted good, and besides, she figured hers had to be much the same. Fakir sighed and leaned into the kiss, his hand going to her waist to pull her closer.

They kept kissing, with only short pauses for air here and there, until the oncoming daylight became too bright to ignore, only then reluctantly pulling apart and waiting to disembark. Fakir helped her back onto solid ground, but nearly tripped and fell in the water himself, because he was still in a bit of a daze from kissing her. They both made it off the ride safely, though, and hovered near it afterwards.

"… Do you want to go on again?" Fakir asked after a few minutes, asking what they were clearly both thinking.

Ahiru nodded and opened her mouth to reply, but then froze as a familiar voice rang out from close by. "Oooohhhh! They went on the lovey-dovey ride zura!"

"Really?" came Rue's amused voice. "How can you tell?"

"They're standing by it zura."

"Well, that's no proof, they might just be talking about what to do next and didn't notice it."

"Then we should ask them zura?"

"… No. Let them have their privacy."

"Okay zura." Uzura trotted the rest of the way over to Ahiru and Fakir. "Hi zura!"

"Hi, Uzura!" Ahiru smiled, trying not to look as relieved as she felt over the fact that her private moments with Fakir were not going to be pried into after all. "Did you enjoy the carousel?"

"Yes zura!" Uzura nodded. "We went on five times zura! But I'm tired of it now so Rue said we should find you zura." She looked over at the Pleasure Cruise. "Are you and Fakir going to go on the lovey-dovey ride zura?"

"Uzura, what did I tell you about respecting their privacy?" Rue said before Ahiru could answer. "Come on, you – let's go stuff your mouth with more candy so you won't go on asking intrusive questions."

"Yay zura! I want more candy zura!" She clapped her hands.

"I figured you might. So let's go." She took Uzura's hand and led her off. "This way." As they walked towards the nearby sweets stand, she couldn't resist looking over her shoulder and mouthing "you're welcome" to Ahiru and Fakir. Really, she figured, they _should_ be grateful for her restraint this time.

Uzura lasted for roughly another two hours before becoming too tired to continue; she fussed nevertheless at being taken home, but fell asleep minutes after the ferry departed. Ahiru stayed awake only little longer than that, dozing off with her head on Fakir's shoulder and his arm around her. He soon drifted away too, his head leaning against hers, and Rue had to be the one to wake them all up when they reached the private island's dock.


	5. Chapter 5

As the boat rocked, Fakir stopped walking and braced himself with a hand against the wall. Luckily, the motion caused him no ill effects, a testament to the quality of the potion he'd taken earlier. It'd tasted musty and took a while to kick in, but it was damned effective now that it had, which was a huge relief. He sighed, waited for a moment to give the ship time to regain stability, and then moved on.

Ahiru's door hung open just a crack; he paused for a moment, his hand hovering near the knob. "Ahiru?" No answer came, so he carefully pushed the door open a little bit more to see if she really was there like he'd been told. The hinges creaked, and he almost didn't hear the small chirp that came from the bed, but it didn't matter because he immediately saw her sleeping form, curled up atop the sheets with her arms around the duck plushie she'd won at the carnival. He found himself relaxing and smiling at the sight, especially as the stuffed toy was so large that it almost completely hid her little face, and in general made her seem even smaller than she already was.

She chirped again, and he stepped into the room, closing the door over before making his way to the bed and sitting down beside her, where he had a better view of her face. She looked so adorable and content that he hated to disturb her, but she needed to be woken soon or else she'd miss dinner. So he reached his hand out and gently touched her cheek, admiring the little freckles he could see; he would've said her name, but Ahiru stirred at his touch and opened her eyes to peer blearily up at him. "F-Fakir?"

"Hey." He gave her a lopsided little smile. "Sorry to wake you, but –"

"Oh! Oh no!" Ahiru bolted upright, and just barely managed to keep her duck from tumbling off her lap and onto the floor. "I'm late, aren't I? I'm late for dinner and everyone's gonna be mad and I'll make us all miss the –"

"Relax, idiot." Fakir interrupted, laying his hand over hers. "You haven't missed anything. The sun hasn't even set, I just wanted to find you before dinner."

"Oh. Okay. Good." Ahiru yawned. "H-how'd you know I was in here?"

"I asked, and Rue said you'd come here. I… well, I fell asleep after taking that potion, and when I woke up… I wanted to see you." He turned red and looked down at his feet.

"Awww." Ahiru felt her face warm and she clutched the duck pillow a little tighter. "H-how are you feeling now that you're awake? Are you any better?" She peered at him, trying to study him for evidence that his condition had improved. His color seemed back to normal, which was promising, but his hair badly needed retying. The disheveled state of it, with most of it hanging loose outside its ribbon, made it plain that he'd slept on it without bothering to untie it.

"I'm fine, the potion worked really well." He turned his gaze back to her. "What about you? Have you felt ill at all?"

"Nope, I feel fine." Ahiru shook her head. "I – I really like being on the water like this… it's really relaxing, that's how I fell asleep, I just kinda… dozed off without meaning to." She blushed. " I'm really glad you're doing better, I didn't want you to be seasick the whole time and miss out on all the fun tonight!"

"Yeah, don't worry." He smiled. "It took a while to work, but I should be fine for the rest of the night now, and I even feel up to eating dinner."

"That's good!" She beamed. "Although, your hair's really messy, it'll need to be retied before we go. N-not that it looks bad, just… there might be comments if we show up together and your hair looks like this." Her blush deepened. She actually found his hair's current state of disarray really appealing, but it opened them up to all sorts of smirks and coy comments from Rue if they joined the others without fixing it.

"Oh." Fakir lifted a hand to his hair, realizing for the first time what it must look like. "I didn't… I didn't even think about…" His first thoughts upon awakening had been of Ahiru, of seeing her, and making sure she felt all right; he hadn't spared one for his own appearance.

"I can fix it for you if you want," Ahiru offered, setting her plush duck down on her pillow. "You want me to?"

"S-sure." He nodded, not certain why this was making him blush slightly. "I don't mind."

"Okay!" Ahiru moved to kneel beside him on the bed. She kissed his temple, and then carefully untied the ribbon that loosely bound what little hadn't already slipped out. She smoothed down the unruly bits atop his head before combing her fingers gently through the length of his hair. He shivered a little and she wanted to sigh, just at the feel of his hair between her fingertips. It really was very beautiful, long and thick and so dark. She couldn't resist leaning her face closer, and taking a deep breath so she could smell him; his hair carried the scent of plain shampoo and salt air, and she liked it. Ahiru pulled his hair away from his face and kissed his temple again, making him blush, and then placed the ribbon – the one she'd made him for his birthday – around the gathered locks and tied it with just as much care as she'd had when untying it. She knew it was selfish of her, but all the same she secretly hoped he never cut it all off, because he looked so _good_ with long hair and she wanted to make more ribbons for him as the years passed. "All done." She kissed his cheek, and then moved so that she could snuggle up against him.

"Th-thanks." He didn't know how to put into words how doing intimate little things with her like that felt; he only knew that it felt good. Charon and Raetsel and even Rue had made comments before about how his hair was a bit out of control and maybe he should think about cutting it, but he didn't want to. Part of it was stubborn contrariness, part of it was preferring the ease of simply being able to tie it back and give it the occasional trim, and now part of it was also the feeling it gave him when Ahiru ran her fingers through it. It wouldn't be the same with short hair, and she couldn't tie it for him like this, so cutting it was firmly out of the question. "So… ah… it hasn't bothered you at all, when the boat rocks?"

"No." Ahiru shook her head again. "Not a bit. I mean, maybe it would if we hit a really bad storm or something, but when it's just traveling, or sitting in the same spot like this, I feel fine, it's soothing even."

"Heh." Fakir laughed softly. "Maybe in another lifetime you really _were_ a duck, since you take to the water so well."

"That's actually what my name means." She turned her head to look up at him. "I read it in a book once in my uncle's house. My name means 'duck'. So I sorta am a duck already." She shifted a little. "I – I never told anybody that before, though."

"I'm honored to be the first, then." He kissed her forehead and slipped his arm around her. "To be trusted with something like that."

"Of course." Ahiru snuggled closer, and he leaned his head against hers. "You're the person I trust the most out of anybody."

"I… it – it's the same for me, I trust you more than anyone too." He swallowed down a lump in his throat. It didn't surprise him to hear her say that, but it left him at a loss for words all the same. "I hope you know that."

"I do." Ahiru took a deep breath and let it out. "You know, if – if I didn't have to be the Chrestomanci someday… I'd wanna move with you to a little cottage by a lake. We could keep ducks, and you'd write stories…"

"We can kind of do that at the castle." He took one of her hands and kissed it. "It's not a cottage, but eventually we'll have a private room of our own together, and there's the duck pond on the grounds, and when I'm not tending the books in the library I'll write stories."

"Our own room… yeah..." Ahiru felt warm all over just imagining it. Such a nice thought, to be able to wake up next to Fakir every day, just like when they'd napped together recently. "Will you let me read your stories?"

"Of course." Fakir squeezed her arm, gently. "Every single one."

"Eeeee… yay…" She leaned up to kiss him, but just as their lips met a bell sounded, low and deep, signaling the readiness of dinner. "Ah… I guess we better go, then…"

"Yeah." Fakir gave her another soft, quick kiss, and then moved to stand up. Ahiru rose too, and took his hand, and they smiled at each other before heading down the hall.

Two side by side seats had been left empty for them, and three pairs of eyes looked over as they entered. "Ah, here are the lovebirds," Rue said, smirking for a moment before turning a more serious gaze on Fakir. "You feeling any better?"

"Yes, I'm –" Fakir began, but Uzura interrupted him.

"They're lovey-dovey zura?"

"– fine," Fakir finished, trying his best to act normal and ignore Uzura's question even as his cheeks turned red. "Thanks for asking. The medicine was gross, but it worked."

"It was icky zura?"

"Yeah." He turned towards Uzura, grateful that she'd become sufficiently distracted. "It tasted like… well, what I imagine licking a dusty shelf would taste like."

"Uuuuugh." Uzura made a face. "That's gross zura."

"Yes, it was. But it worked, so it was worth it." He leaned over and ruffled her hair, and then sat down beside Ahiru.

A simple but satisfying meal had been prepared for them all: freshly caught fish, native vegetables prepared in various ways, bread, and spiced tea. Ahiru, Fakir saw, tried the bread first, a habit that he'd noticed before but not really thought about. It made her a bit more duck-like, it seemed, and he had to restrain a smile.

After they finished eating they moved up to the deck. While the sun sank into the sky, giving them a brilliant display of colors, they spread out bed rolls and blankets for a more comfortable viewing of what was to come that evening. A reliable forecast had predicted an aurora in this area for tonight – this world experienced its rare and beautiful auroras in the northern hemisphere's summer, the reverse of their own world – and so this houseboat had been rented and prepared so they could watch.

"Is it time yet zura?" Uzura asked from her vantage point in her mother's lap.

"Not just yet." Chrestomanci bent and kissed the top of Uzura's head. "The stars are only just coming out now, we have to wait till it's all the way dark."

"Oooohhh. Okay zura." She stared up at the sky for a few minutes in rapt attention, then spoke again. "They're pretty zura."

"Aren't they, though?" Chrestomanci smiled."If we look closely, maybe we'll see some constellations before the aurora comes out."

"What's a constellation zura?"

"It's a picture in the stars," she replied. "People saw shapes in the way the stars are laid out, the images of people and animals from their stories, so they drew imaginary lines between them and called them constellations. Every world has different ones, though they tend to be largely the same within a Series. But Series Five has all different ones from ours."

"Ooooohhh. I see zura." Uzura nodded. "What kind of shapes do they have here zura?"

"Well… naturally there's a mermaid…" Chrestomanci tried to remember which other ones she'd learned about from this world, this Series. "There's also a jellyfish, a castle... a great trident… a ship… so many of the legends from this Series center around the sea, as you'd expect from one where there are only islands, so a large amount of their constellations are sea creatures or objects associated with the sea."

"There's also one of a enormous mythical tree," Fakir said, drawing all attention to himself. He'd chosen to lie on his back on a comfortable bed roll, one wide enough that Ahiru could lie beside him under a blanket. Summer it may have been, but in this area of the world the nights nevertheless could be chilly, particularly out on the water. "A tree said to be the font of wisdom and knowledge, if explorers could only find it and prove themselves worthy."

"Did anyone find it zura?"

"None who've been recorded. I think it's just a tall tale, with no basis in fact." Fakir shrugged. It was one of his favorite stories, always had been ever since he'd read it not long after coming to the castle, but he'd always figured it wasn't real.

"That's too bad zura." Uzura looked down at her feet, and then back up at the sky. "Maybe you should look for it someday zura."

"Maybe I will."

They all took to watching the night sky quietly then, though Uzura occasionally broke the silence to ask if they could see a constellation now and where was it. They all got the chance to point out a different one to her, even Ahiru, who hadn't studied this world's constellations quite as extensively as the others, but carried a strong memory of having read about – and seen pictures of – a flower constellation.

When the main attraction finally emerged, they all made sounds of delight, some quieter than others, before falling silent to watch it in awe. Shimmering ribbons of light in shades of green and violet and blue seemed to dance high above their heads, bathing them in an extraordinary glow. It truly felt magical in a way few other things Ahiru had ever experienced had, and she almost expected a doorway to another world to open up in the sky, or for visions of one to appear within the lights. And if she concentrated, and shut out all other sounds she could faintly – oh so faintly – hear the sound of crackling, or perhaps clapping, coming from the bright sky. The noise had a quality to it like radio static, and nobody else seemed able to hear it, but Fakir assured her in a soft whisper that he believed her, that it _must_ be making noise if she heard something like that.

The two of them ended up staying out the longest; Uzura fell asleep before anyone noticed, and when she did Chrestomanci carefully lifted her up and took her to bed. She bid them goodnight before descending below deck, saying that she too was fatigued, and encouraged them to keep enjoying this rare sight. Rue lasted nearly an hour after that before complaining of the cold and saying her eyes were falling, and then she too headed down to her room, leaving Ahiru and Fakir alone.

"Oh… I think it's starting to fade away," Ahiru said sadly, nearly an hour after Rue had left. "Look – isn't it getting paler?"

"I… yeah, I think you're right." Fakir stroked her hair. She'd simply laid down next to him while the others had been out here, but now that they were alone they'd shifted so that her head was on his shoulder, with one small hand resting on his chest, and he had his arm around her. "I suppose it had to end sometime."

"Yeah, I know… it's just sad to see it go away, cause it was so pretty." Ahiru paused. "U-um, speaking of going away… Fakir?"

"Yeah?" He turned his head to look at her, and saw worry flicker in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing, really, just, well…" She would've wrung her hands if she hadn't been in the wrong position to do so and if she wanted to move them off Fakir, which she didn't. "I – I was thinking about our conversation earlier… wh-when I become the Chrestomanci eventually, and I get really busy with it, what's gonna happen? A-are you gonna resent me and – and not wanna be with me anymore cause we get less time together? N-not that I wouldn't make time for you, I would, a lot, as much as I could, but I'd still probably get called away, and other stuff… how are you going to be about that?"

"I'll be fine. Yes," he added as he saw her open her mouth, "I will. Don't worry. I _have_ thought about this. I would never resent you, not ever." He stroked her hair again. "I've known who you are, what your destiny is, ever since you came to the castle. What it means to me is that I have to value the time we _do_ spend together even more than I already do." He blushed at that, and so did she. "I can't waste any moment of that resenting you for something you can't help. And besides, I doubt it'll happen for many years yet. The current Chrestomanci is still young, and has most of her lives, and I don't think she's likely to want to dump such responsibility on you until she knows you're truly prepared for it."

Ahiru thought back to the story Chrestomanci – Edel – had told her about her own life, about how hard it had been on her to take on the office before she was truly ready. "No… no, I don't think she'd do that to me either."

"You've probably got a long time yet before you have to worry about it, then, and when it does happen, rest assured I'll be there to support you." Fakir threaded his fingers into her hair, and leaned back to look up again at the brilliant night sky, his face warming afresh at what he was about to say. "I… when I fell in love with you, it was with full knowledge of who you are, what awaits you… and it didn't stop me for one second. I've always accepted it, it's never been something that I fell for you in spite of knowing, or anything like that. I love you for who you are, and that means being okay with what your life is going to be like someday." He could, he realized, easily see himself spending his life with her, _building_ a life with her, whatever that entailed. Whatever they decided they wanted out of it. Knowing that a weighty responsibility awaited her at some distant point in the future didn't impede that ease at all.

"Th-that's good, I – I'm glad," Ahiru said, interrupting his thoughts in a shaky little voice that betrayed just how much his words meant to her. "A-and, um… m-maybe when _I_ retire from it, we'll get that house by a lake and raise duckies."

Fakir smiled. "I'd like that."


	6. Chapter 6

"I don't want to go home zura."

Uzura had been quiet since the end of breakfast, but now all heads turned towards her as she finally spoke, and hands stilled in the middle of smearing protective ointment on themselves or others. An awkward silence followed, but only for a moment before Chrestomanci conjured up what to say.

"I know you don't." She stroked Uzura's hair. "I don't either. I don't think any of us do, really. But we have to – Mama has important work to get back to, and the school year will be starting in a few weeks, and besides, don't you miss your own bed? And the duck pond? And all the places you explore?"

"I – I guess zura. But…" Her lower lip wobbled. "I'll miss this place too zura."

"Uzura, I have an idea." Prince Siegfried knelt in front of her and smiled. "It's not as good as this place, I know, but you could come visit my castle soon. Would you like that?"

Uzura pondered the offer. "Is it pretty zura?"

"I like to think it is." He ruffled her hair. "It isn't on the beach, but it's up in the mountains, and around this time of year all the flowers are in bloom and everything is very green. There's also a lovely stream that runs all through the castle grounds, and plenty of trees, some of which are even the right size for you to climb in."

"I – I could climb trees zura?" Her eyes lit up.

"If your mother allows." He glanced at Chrestomanci, and then returned his gaze to Uzura and lowered his voice a little, to make it sound conspiratorial. "But I think we could convince her it's safe. So what do you say?"

"Yes zura!" Uzura declared, clapping her hands and destroying the illusion of secrecy. "That sounds so fun zura!"

"Then we'll have to see when we can arrange it," Chrestomanci said, smiling and sending a grateful look to the prince. She wasn't entirely sure about the idea of Uzura climbing a tree, even a small one, but that she'd been cheered up was most important right now; they could deal with the matter of tree-climbing when they got there. "Did you thank him for the invitation?"

"Thank you zura." He smiled and ruffled her hair again in response.

"Now then, Uzura," Chrestomanci continued, "do you want to go swimming in your private pool with Mama? It's been long enough since breakfast by now, I think."

"Ooooohhh! Yes zura!" She practically jumped up and down, flapping her arms and the duck-shaped floaties that had once again been attached to them.

"Then let's go. We'll leave the lovey-dovey ones to their own devices, shall we?" Chrestomanci bent and picked her up.

"Lovey dovey zura?" Uzura peered intently over her mother's shoulder, as if hoping to catch a glimpse of either couple being lovey dovey now that she was leaving.

She was doomed to be disappointed, however, as they all knew better; and once the two were out of earshot Rue spoke up. "That was very kind of you."

"I meant it." He turned slightly surprised eyes on her. "I did want to cheer her up, yes, but I did mean it. She is most welcome at the palace, as are – as are all of you." His eyes flickered over to Fakir for the briefest of moments, so brief that Rue thought she imagined it. "Whenever you would like to come visit, the invitation stands."

"Well, perhaps we'll take you up on that soon." Rue smiled. "I do love it there, after all. And Ahiru, you simply must see it too. I know you will eventually as Chrestomanci, but you need to visit much sooner than that, there are so many interesting sights to see and be introduced to."

"I – I'm sure there are." Ahiru darted a glance at Fakir too. "I – maybe I'll go next time Chrestomanci has to go there for official business, to – to learn about stuff…"

Rue raised an eyebrow. "It's really more fun to go _un_ officially, so you can relax and enjoy yourself, but I suppose it's different for you, after all. Oh well." She turned her attention to Siegfried. "In any case… what would you like to do, now you are finally here?"

"I haven't any idea." He shrugged. "I have never been here, so I know nothing of what we could do."

"Well, I'll just have to be your tour guide, then." Rue slipped her arm through his and winked. "Shall we? I know exactly where I should like to take you, all the things you must see."

"It would be my pleasure."

He smiled and let her lead him off in the same general direction that Chrestomanci had taken Uzura, albeit with a bent more towards the tides that lapped gently at the sand. The salty sea breeze carried back the sound of some of her laughter at things he said, but not his, and none of the words they exchanged could be understood at the growing distance between them and the other two.

"Fakir?" He glanced down as he heard his name and felt Ahiru tug on his fingers. "I was thinking… you wanna go back to that one little cave we found? Just for some privacy? I – I know it's kinda a long walk, but I thought it'd be nice to see it again one more time before we leave… b-but it's okay if you don't want to," she added.

"No, I do." Fakir shook his head. "I don't mind the walk, because I'd like to see it one last time too, and sit on the beach there with you." Ahiru blushed and smiled, and he tried to smile back, despite his slightly distracted mental state. "Come on, I'll gather some things for us."

He took a carefully folded blanket from the extras that had been brought along, and a couple towels for if they decided to swim or splash around in the water. Once he had them tucked securely under his arm Ahiru took his free hand in hers, and they set off.

"It's nice that he finally made it here to see her, don't you think?" Ahiru asked as they walked along. "I mean, I know Rue's had a lot of fun with the rest of us, but it was making her sad, I think, that he kept having to cancel. It's the last day, true, but at least they get to have _some_ time together while we're still here, and I can tell she's really happy about that, so I'm happy for her."

"… Yeah." Fakir nodded. "I'm glad for her too."

"Sorry, I know it's awkward for you." Ahiru frowned. "Cause of your duplicate in his world and all, right?"

"… I guess you could say that, yeah." They'd made it well away from the others by now, so there was no chance of anyone coming across them and overhearing this conversation. That made him more ready to talk about this.

"What do you mean?" Ahiru stopped walking, and peered up at him with a curious look on her face. "Is there some other reason you're not comfortable around him?"

"I don't know if I'd say I'm uncomfortable around him, but… well, I suppose it _is_ slightly awkward for other reasons, yeah. Because..." Fakir drew a deep breath. He'd prepared himself for this, and felt more assured than ever after recent events of Ahiru's acceptance, but he still felt hot and shaky all over, and his heart was racing. "Do you… do you remember when he came to the castle, for the first time since you'd moved in, and I told you I barely knew him?"

"Yeah. I remember." She wasn't sure where this was going, but she didn't want to interrupt him, and so she waited for him to continue.

"Well… that was… it _is_ true that I don't know him that well, but at the same time it isn't really the entire truth." He took another deep breath and turned his gaze to the sea for now, away from her face. "I used to… I used to have a crush on him."

There. It was out now. _He_ was out now. No calling the words back, no ducking back inside. It – and he – were fully out in the open, for Ahiru to accept or not. Which he felt confident she would, despite his jittery nerves; he couldn't see her rejecting him, not when he thought calmly about it, and it was why he'd chosen to finally do this at long last.

"A crush?" Ahiru's eyes widened. "Like… a _crush_ crush? Like you wanted to kiss him and stuff?"

"… Yeah. Yeah, I did." He swallowed at the memory of all the things he'd felt for the prince, all the things he'd wanted from him. "I… this is something I've been meaning to tell you, but I've been too scared to, until very recently. I don't just… well, you know better than anyone that I'm attracted to girls, but that's not all, I'm attracted to guys too. It's always been a part of me, and it always will be – I can't just turn it off. But I'm well over him," he added hastily. "I have been for a while – so don't worry that I'm pining to be with him or something, you're not my second choice or anything like that, I only want to be with you. My feelings for him are long gone."

"Because of how distant he's always acted towards you?" Ahiru guessed. Fakir nodded, still not looking at her.

"In a way. Because I thought… I didn't just think my feelings were unrequited, it wasn't only that. I honestly believed, until this last winter when Rue came back from that ball and told us about my duplicate in that world, that he could tell how I felt and was disgusted by it. That he was disgusted by _me_." He stared down at the sand. "I've never told anyone else that I liked him that way, because I thought they'd be disgusted by me too. You're the first to know this about me, to know that I experience those attractions."

"I…" Tears pricked at Ahiru's eyes. "I'm glad you trust me with something important like this…"

"Of course I do. And, Ahiru, you also need to know – none of this makes what I feel for you lesser, or weaker." He finally braved meeting her eyes, and what he saw in them encouraged him. "Just because I used to want him doesn't mean I don't want you, or anything like that. Like I said, I – "

"I know," Ahiru interrupted him. "I know that. Cause I know how you feel about me, and also cause…" It was her turn to drop her gaze to the sand. "Cause… I'm the same…"

"The same?" Fakir's eyes widened. He hadn't expected _this_. He wasn't going to complain, the opposite really, but it surprised him nonetheless. Just in a good way. "As in, you…"

"Y-yeah, I… I like girls." Ahiru's voice came out in a tiny whisper. "I like boys, you know that, but I also like girls… I feel really attracted to pretty girls I see." She frowned. "I think… well, I know looking back that I've always been that way, but I didn't always know it… but I think some of the girls at the orphanage figured it out, cause it makes some of the ways they acted around me make sense if I think that they knew that about me and were grossed out by it. By me." Her voice shook a little. "A-and sometimes I feel like I _am_ doing something wrong to be this way…"

"You're not." Fakir reached out and gently took her hand. "You've done nothing wrong, any more than I have. If others can't accept us the way we truly are, that's their fault."

"I – I know that, but…" She turned a worried look up at him. "I'm with _you_ now. A-and I only want to be with you, I don't want anybody else, but… but I keep feeling these things, and I'd never act on them, and I don't want to, I'm not even tempted to, I just… I can't help it and I feel bad…"

"Idiot. It's not wrong." Fakir squeezed her hand. "How is it any more wrong than when Raetsel admires a handsome man from a magazine or a film? She's happily married to Hans and loves him, but she doesn't stop finding others attractive, and no one thinks any less of _her_ for it. Why should it be any different if _I_ feel attraction to the man she pointed out, or if you feel it for a pretty girl? Or someone of any other gender? It doesn't mean we love each other less or that we're going to run off and act on these attractions, it just means we have them." He squeezed her hand again. "I know you can't shut them off any more than I can, and also that you would never act on them or even want to. Like I told you the other night, I trust you more than anyone else."

"Y-yeah… I trust you more than anyone else too." Ahiru smiled, feeling relief sweep over her. "You're right… it's just how we are and it doesn't mean we're gonna do anything bad. I – I'm glad you understand that about me… that it's okay I'm like this…"

"Of course it is." He let go of her hand, and reached out to touch her cheek. "And I'm… glad that you also understand about me, and accept me. I thought that you would, I didn't doubt it… that's why I wanted to tell you, especially… especially after I let you see the way I really look, and you accepted _that_ without reservation. When that didn't bother you at all, I started thinking… that now I could finally confide in you about this side of myself. I just had to find the right way to say it, and the right time." He gave her that lopsided half-smile she knew so well. "The prince finally showing up today turned out to be just what I needed."

Ahiru giggled. "Yeah, it did work out perfectly, didn't it? Cause I brought him up and then you acted kinda funny and that was a good way to ease into telling me and now we have it out in the open." She paused. "I – I think… I think it's really neat that we have this in common, you know? I've been wanting to tell you too but I've been afraid to cause I was nervous of what you'd think and if you'd be okay with me being like this, but it’s a really really huge relief to know that you're the same way and now we can really be our true selves with each other."

"… Yeah." Fakir smiled. "It's… like a weight's been lifted, honestly. I figured that you would still accept and love me the way I am, but I wasn't expecting you to say that you're bi too. It's… a very nice surprise. You…" He swallowed, his expression becoming serious, and when he spoke again his voice shook slightly. "You make me feel safe around you. In a way that nobody else does. I feel, now more than ever, that I can talk about anything with you."

"You can! Of course you can!" Ahiru nodded. " I feel the same way, of course, I feel like I can talk about anything with _you_! Oh, and if you want to talk about the crush you had on him, just to get it out after a long time bottling it up, you're always welcome to, it doesn't bother me. I know how hard it is not to be able to talk to anyone about that kind of thing."

"Thank you." A soft smile reappeared on his face. "I'll probably take you up on that. It'd be good to let it all out even if I don't still have those feelings for him anymore."

"When _did_ you get over him?" Ahiru asked. "Just as a place to start from."

"I… hmmm." Fakir considered it as he resumed walking, Ahiru's hand held in his again. "It was before you came to the castle, definitely. Several months prior, maybe even a year… I'm not really sure exactly when it happened, because I didn't know for certain that it had until he visited the castle at the beginning of last year. I looked right at him, and I felt… nothing. No physical reaction at all. When I realized it I was relieved, because I'd been trying so hard to get over him, because it had hurt to be so attracted to someone I thought was repulsed by me like that. I'd figured I was over him already, but to have that confirmation was a weight off my mind."

Ahiru squeezed his hand. "It must've been another relief when Rue told us he was only weird around you cause of the duplicate thing."

"It was… I don't know how to describe how it felt. I think… it was more closure than anything, because I already had feelings for you, and I knew I was well over him, and I was honestly more focused on what she said about my duplicate. Which was another indicator that my feelings for him had faded." He shrugged. "It was good to know I hadn't been suspected after all, yeah, but that was it – I didn't think I suddenly had a chance with him, nor did I even want one. By that point I only wanted you."

"Awwww." Ahiru blushed again. "We were silly, weren't we? We took longer than we needed to to be together, and missed out on some time…"

"Better late than never." Fakir lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "In the end we only lost a few months… some people wait far longer than that, or never get a chance at happiness with each other at all. We've been lucky."

"That's true…" Ahiru intended to say more on the subject, but their arrival at their destination distracted her. "Oh! Look! There it is!" She pointed with her free hand to the cave, only a short distance away now.

"Yeah." Fakir let go of her hand, and moved a little bit up the beach so that he could spread out the blanket he'd brought and deposit the towels atop it. Narrow as the shoreline here had become as they drew closer to the cave, they still had just enough room to spread it out above the highest point the tides reached. "Do you want to go in now, or walk around out here a little more first?"

"Either one sounds good! What about you?"

"I could do either too." Fakir hesitated, and then lifted his shirt over his head and dropped it onto the blanket beside their towels. "I'll leave it up to you."

"Well… now that you did that, I kinda want to stay out here a little longer so I can see you better," Ahiru said shyly, a blush coloring her cheeks. Fakir blushed too, and she almost giggled, even as she stepped closer and slipped her arms around him. "No, but, um, really… I'm glad you feel comfortable doing that in front of me now." She leaned her face against his chest and sighed happily as he embraced her in kind. "I – I'm so glad you know that I love and accept _all_ of you, just the way you are."

"Yeah… I do know that." He closed his eyes. "I'm more grateful for it than I can say… and every bit as accepting of you too."

"I know." A lump rose up in Ahiru's throat, but one of joy, not sorrow. "I'm really grateful about that too…"

They held each other for a while longer and then pulled apart so they could explore this special area of theirs one last time before rejoining the others. They held hands on the way in, as they had before, and when they got to the pool at the end sat with their toes in the water and Ahiru in Fakir's lap. Nothing was said between them as they sat there, with his arms around her and his head leaning against hers, but it didn't need to be; they simply basked in the joy of each other's company.

When they finally got back everyone else had already returned and started eating lunch. Uzura spotted them first and would've stood up to greet them, disrupting her food and drink, had not her mother held her down in time. "You're late zura!"

"Yes, we are!" Ahiru giggled as she and Fakir sat down at the free space on the large blanket that had been laid out. "Sorry, Uzura!"

"It's okay zura." Uzura paused, a light bulb seeming to go on over her head. "Oooohhh. Were you busy being lovey-dovey zura?"

"I – a-actually, y-yeah!" Ahiru blushed even as she smiled, and reached for Fakir's free hand. "We were! Because… because we love each other very much and we're really happy together!"

"Please," Rue said loudly. "People are trying to _eat_ here."

"Oh, but I think it's a lovely thing, to give her a positive example in this arena," Siegfried said, looking rather earnest. "To have so many good people in her life, living happily in their own different ways… not all children are so lucky."

Rue gave him a mock glare. " _Traitor_. Though I suppose you have a point," she added grudgingly.

They slipped into their own conversation then, and once the attention was safely off herself and Fakir Ahiru nudged him. "Um… was it okay that I said that? I – I know it's kinda embarrassing, but I'm not embarrassed to be with you, if you know what I mean… and I do want Uzura to know that and to see us being happy, cause he's right, she should get good examples and stuff…"

"It's fine. Don't worry so much." Fakir shook his head. "I feel the same way. I'd never be embarrassed to be with you, or be seen with you."

Ahiru relaxed. "Okay, good!"

After lunch, they all waited a bit before going back in the water, despite Uzura's protests that she felt ready ' _now_ zura' and really wanted to go swimming again. Ahiru and Fakir sat under an umbrella together with Uzura between them, reading a book aloud to her while she fidgeted and fussed; the book promptly became infested with grains of sand when Chrestomanci announced that yes, they could now go swimming, prompting Uzura to leap up and kick the stuff everywhere in the process.

"Can I swim in the ocean this time zura?" Uzura asked. "It's the last day zura…"

"I think I could help you swim in it, if your mother is okay with that," Fakir said, looking over at Chrestomanci. "You'd be safe with me, so she wouldn't have to worry."

"Not on my own zura?"

"No, Uzura, not on your own," Chrestomanci answered, shaking her head. "But if Fakir promises to keep you safe, you can swim with him."

"I will." Fakir nodded. " I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."

"Then you may, Uzura." Chrestomanci smiled. "Since Fakir will be protecting you, you may swim with him in the ocean."

"Hooray zura!" Uzura cheered and clapped, her face lighting up with pure joy. "Oooohhhh!" she exclaimed in surprise as he lifted her into his arms. He carried her, with Ahiru following close behind, into the ocean, stopping when the water level was up to his knees (and even higher on Ahiru). He lowered her carefully into the water, so that her arms and legs were in it but her head stayed above it. "This is swimming zura?"

"Yes. This is how I was taught when I was about your age. Start kicking and paddling."

"But… I can't feel the bottom zura." Uzura frowned.

"You're not supposed to," Ahiru said. "Swimming means you're above the bottom."

"Ooooohhhh. Okay zura." Uzura stared down at the water for a second, and then began to paddle and kick like Fakir had told her, splashing merrily all over the three of them. "Ooooohhhh! It's fun zura!"

"I'm glad." Fakir smiled at Ahiru over Uzura's head, and she smiled back.

When Uzura got bored and tired, he carried her back to the blanket and her mother, where she soon fell asleep; even her seemingly boundless energy had its limits. Ahiru, the second most energetic member of the party, soon found herself yawning too, and so she and Fakir headed back to the house along with Chrestomanci and Uzura while Rue and Siegfried stayed on the beach for some more private time before he had to go back to his own world. Back at the house Chrestomanci put Uzura to bed, and Ahiru had just enough energy to sneak into Fakir's room, where she finally fell asleep curled up next to him while he read and eventually napped a little too before dinner. Through luck or minor miracle, she didn't get caught sneaking back to her room after they both woke up.

Going home early the next morning couldn't help but be as bittersweet as they'd expected, the good feeling of being back in their own rooms and able to sleep in their own beds tempered by the small pang of saying goodbye to a wonderful place and the wonderful time spent there. Like all the best holidays, however, they all returned home feeling renewed and restored, and none more so than Ahiru and Fakir. For there were now no longer any secrets between them, only a deeper sense of trust and love and acceptance.


End file.
